Cl56c1 


HUMS  nSTHKAL  SMIW 


THE  LiBifftiW 

CF  M 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN 


An 

Autobiographical  Sketch 

of 

My  Life 


And  also 

Some  of  the  Addresses  which  I 
have  made  on  special  occasions 
and  which  are  supposed  to  be 
of  local  interest  in  the  county 
in  which  I  have  lived  during  all 
the  years  of  my  manhood 


By     ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN 


PRINTED        BY 

THE  ARGUS  PRINTING  HOUSE 

Robinson.  Illinois 

1915 


C  /!'&  <-  I 


INTRODUCTORY 


* '  As  for  man  his  days  are  as  grass ;  as  a  flower  of  the 
field  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it  and  it 
is  not,  and  the  place  thereof  shall  know  it  no  more." 

No  rational  man  or  woman  desires  to  pass  away  and 
be  soon  forgotten  by  those  who  still  live.  Often  living 
men  and  women  provide  for  the  erection  of  monuments 
to  perpetuate  their  memory  when  they  have  ceased  to 
live.  They  also  build  monuments  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  those  who  have  preceded  them  to  the  grave. 
Biographical  sketches  and  books  are  written  and  pub- 
lished as  a  protest  against  an  entrance  into  the  shadows  of 
oblivion.  Portraits  are  painted;  likenesses  are  engraved 
and  printed.  Photographs  are  taken  and  multiplied  to 
aid  memory  in  holding  back  from  the  misty  regions  of 
things  forgotten,  the  history,  the  form  and  features,  and 
even  the  thought  of  those  whose  biographies  are  printed, 
whose  portraits  are  painted  and  whose  photographic  pic- 
tures are  taken. 

Again,  there  are  those  who,  realizing  the  uncertain- 
ty, and  unreliability  of  much  of  the  biographical  history 
that  is  written,  write  for  themselves  an  autobiography  to 
be  left  as  a  memorial  of  their  life  history.  Of  this  num- 
ber I  am  one.  At  the  age  of  eighty-two  I  retired  from 
practice  as  a  lawyer' that  I  might  enjoy  the  rest  and  quiet 
that  I  had  fairly  earned  by  more  than  half  a  century  of 
close  application  to  the  duties  and  obligations  that  came 
to  me  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  citizen.  The  autobiographical 
sketch  that  I  shall  write  will  be  a  short  one.  It  will  be 
supplemented  with  a  few  of  my  public  addresses  made  on 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


special  occasions  during  the  course  of  my  busy  life. 
There  will  be  no  connection  of  one  with  any  other  of 
these  addresses.  Each  one  stands  by  itself  and  explains 
the  occasion  that  called  it  forth.  The  occasions  were 
mostly  local  and  for  that  reason  they  have  been  sleeted 
for  publication.  The  publication  of  the  autobiographical 
sketch  that  I  shall  write,  and  the  address  that  I  shall  se- 
lect, in  book  form,  is  made  for  private  circulation  only. 

X  ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN.     X 
Robinson,  Illinois,  December  17,  A.  D.  1915. 


C- 


^  d        '$/£- 

tf*t-~ 


"*-**^ 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 


My  father  was  John  Callahan,  who  was  born  near 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
November,  A.  D.  1801.  His  father  was  George  Callahan, 
who  vas  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war.  After  the 
war  he  became  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  while  traveling 
a  circuit  in  the  state  of  Virginia  crossed  the  Ohio  river 
a  short  distance  above  Marietta,  and  preached  the  first 
Methodist  sermon  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  My  father's 
mother  was  Mary  Wells,  a  daughter  of  General  Wells  of 
Uniontown,  Pennsylvania. 

My  mother  was  Margaret  Brown,  and  was  born  near 
Bowling  Green,  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  on  the  thirtieth 
day  of  August,  A.  D.  1805.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Nicholas  Brown  and  Sarah  Wlii taker  Brown. 

My  father  and  mother  were  married  in  Licking 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March,  1824, 
and  lived  in  that  county  until  1849,  when  they  removed 
to  Illinois.  Father  entered  two  eighty-acre  tracts  of 
heavily  timbered  land  and  built  a  log  cabin  on  one  of  the 
eighties.  I  have  in  my  possession  the  patents  issued  to 
him  by  the  United  States  for  these  lands.  One  of  them 
has  the  personal  signature  of  President  John  Quincy 
Adams.  The  other  has  the  personal  signature  of  Presi- 
dent Andrew  Jackson.  Until  Jackson's  second  term  the 
Presidents  signed  all  patents  for  land  in  person.  In 
Jackson's  second  term  and  ever  thereafter  they  were 
signed  by  the  President's  secretary. 

I  was  born  in  Licking  county,  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1829,  in  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


cabin  built  of  unhewn  logs,  covered  with  clapboards  and 
floored  with  puncheons  split  from  large  oak  logs  and 
surfaced  with  a  broad  axe.  The  wide  fireplace  was  built 
of  puddled  clay,  and  the  chimney  that  rose  above  it  was 
made  of  split  sticks  and  plastered  with  stiff  clay.  The 
door  was  made  of  split  boards  and  hung  on  wooden 
hinges.  Great  forest  trees  stood  like  sentinels  around  the 
cabin  and  their  spreading,  branches  overshadowed  it.  In 
my  childhood  days  I  saw  these  trees,  one  by  one,  fall  be- 
neath the  ringing  strokes  of  my  father's  axe.  The  area 
of  cleared  land  was  slowly  extended.  Fields  were  laid  out 
and  fenced  with  rails.  In  the  first  field  an  orchard  was 
planted  and  •  the  apple  trees  grew  amid  the  stumps  and 
corn  until  they  yielded  fruit,  and  gave  joy  to  the  family. 
In  a  woods  pasture  a  small  flock  of  sheep  was  kept  and 
was  brought  into  a  close  sheepfold  each  night  to  protect 
the  sheep  from  wolves  that  nightly  prowled  and  howled 
in  the  surrounding  forests.  My  parents  had  but  little 
property  besides  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land 
which  they  had  purchased  with  borrowed  money.  The 
task  of.  clearing  a  farm  and  building  a  home,  on  heavily 
timbered  land  is  one  that  requires  much  hard  labor  and 
many  personal  sacrifices.  My  parents  and  their  children, 
of  whom  I  was  the  third,  tasted  the  bitter  cup  of  priva- 
tion and  hardship  which  necessity  presses  to  the  lips  of 
the  pioneer.  I  was  a  small  boy  when  I  was  drafted  into 
the  ranks  of  the  toilers  who  were  engaged  in  the  arduous 
task  of  transforming  a  heavily  timbered  wilderness  into 
farms  and  homes. 

The  national  road  from  Cumberland  in  the  state  of 
Maryland  westward  through  the  states  of  Virginia,  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  had  recently  been  built  through  Lick- 
ing county  on  a  line  several  miles  south  of  our  home,  and 
fhe  canal  from  Cleveland  on  Lake  Erie,  to  Portsmouth  on 
the  Ohio  river,  crossed  the  national  road  at  the  Village  of 
Hebron.  Along  this  road  and  canal  the  county  was  be- 


JOHN  CALLAHAN. 


MRS.  MARGARET  BROWN  CALLAHAN. 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN 


ing  rapidly  improved,  and  business  seemed  to  concentrate 
about  them.  In  order  to  get  into  this  current  of  business 
my  father  bought  a  farm  on  the  national  road  near  the 
village  of  Kirkersville  and  moved  to  it  in  1838.  This 
change  of  residence  was  the  opening  of  a  new  world 
to  me.  Within  a  few  rods  of  our  door  was  the  wide 
macadamized  road  with  .its  cut  stone  arches  ;  its  cover- 
ed bridges  resting  on  cut  stone  piers,  and  milestones 
telling  the  distance  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling, 
Zanesville,  Columbus  and  intermediate  villages  and 
cities.  There  was  a  daily  pony  express,  and  a  line  of 
four  horse  stage  coaches,  carrying  passengers  and  the 
mails.  The  stage  driver  was  a  great  man  in  my. 
boyish  eyes.  Perched  up  on  top  of  the  coach  he 
held  the  lines,  and  wielded  the  lash  that  occasionally 
touched  up  his  leaders,  as  gracefully  as  if  it  had  been  a 
royal  scepter.  One  driver  won  my  special  admiration.  All 
drivers  announced  their  approach  to  the  station  by  blow- 
ing a  horn.  This  driver  carried  a  key  Jbugle  and  as  the 
announcement  of  his  coming  the  soft  clear  notes  of  Lucy 
Neal,  or  some  other  popular  melody,  were  sent  flying 
through  the  air  like  birds  of  joy  bearing  tender  mes- 
sages of  love  and  peace. 

The  doings  at  the  stage  station  were  to  me  a  wonder 
and  a  delight.  As  the  coach  came  to  the  station  another 
team  came  from  the  stable  harnessed  and  ready  for  the 
run  to  the  next  station.  The  incoming  team  was  hastily 
unhitched  and  went  to  the  stable.  The  fresh  team  was 
put  in  place  and  the  tugs  hitched  while  the  driver 
climbed  to  his  perch,  and  the  lines  tossed  to  him,  and  in  a 
moment  the  coach  was  rattling  away  over  the  stony 
road.  These  drivers  were  a  merry  lot  of  fellows  and 
many  jests  and  witty  sayings  were  exchanged  between 
them  while  changing  teams. 

The  best  roadsters  that  could  be  found  in  the  country 
were  bought  for  this  service.  The  teams  were  often 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


matched  in  color.  There  were  teams  of  roans,  sorrels, 
bays,  blacks,  grays  and  of  mixed  colors.  I  well  remem- 
ber one  team  that  was  always  spoken  of  as  "The  Little 
Bays. ' '  They  came  from  the  stable  eager  as  race  horses 
and  had  to  be  held  in  place  to  be  hitched.  I  have  seen 
a  driver  hold  each  restless  nervous  horse  by  the  bit  while 
others  hooked  the  tugs.  The  shout  of  the  driver  "let 
them  go,"  was  the  signal  for  the  start,  and  it  filled  a 
boy's  soul  with  delight  to  see  them  go. 

Four  miles  east  at  the  village  of  Hebron  the  canal 
crossed  the  national  road.  Along  the  canal  the  long  low 
boats  were  towed  by  horses  walking  along  the  towpath. 
Lighter  boats  were  towed  by  trotting  horses  and  carried 
mail  and  passengers.  These  were  marvels  of  speed  in 
that  slow  moving  period  in  the  history  of  the  state. 

The  merchandise  retailed  in  all  central  Ohio  was 
principally  brought  from  Philadelphia  in  wagons  drawn 
by  four,  six  or  eight  horses.  Every  day  I  saw  these 
great  wagons  moving  westward  loaded  with  goods  for  lo- 
cal merchants;  and  eastward  loaded  with  western  pro- 
duce to  be  sold  in  the  eastern  markets.  Their  wagon 
yards  were  usually  by  the  wayside.  The  wagoner's  sleep- 
ing and  dining  room  was  in  his  wagon.  Then  there  was 
the  never-ending  train  of  emigrant  wagons  moving  to- 
wards Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Missouri.  The  road- 
side camping  places  of  these  emigrants  were  very  attrac- 
tive. Supplies  of  food  for  men  and  animals  were  pur- 
chased from  the  nearby  farms.  Acquaintance  with  them 
was  easily  made.  They  were  free  to  tell  of  the  homes  they 
had  left,  and  of  the  hopes  they  entertained  of  better  times 
and  more  prosperous  conditions  in  the  new  country  to 
which  they  were  going.  My  world  was  growing  larger 
and  I  began  to  dream  of  the  possibilities  of  my  own  fu- 
ture life. 

Less  than  a  mile  from  our  home  was  the  outer  edge 
of  "Bloody  Run  Swamp,''  the  greatest  wild  pigeon  roost 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN 


in  the  United  States.  Evening  and  morning  the  sky 
would  be  covered  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  with  pig- 
eons going  into  or  out  of  the  roost.  In  a  still  night  the 
chatter  of  the  birds  and  the  flutter  of  their  wings  could 
be  heard  for  miles  around.  During  the  roosting  seasons 
parties  came  from  cities  far  and  near  and  went  into  the 
swamp  after  pigeons.  These  parties  required  guides.  My 
father  was  acquainted  with  the  swamp  and  knew  the 
paths  that  could  be  traversed  in  and  out  of  it,  and  fre- 
quently accompanied  visiting  parties.  I  sometimes  went 
with  him..  General  Sherman  said  he  had  often  been  10 
this  pigeon  roost,  and  it  is  possible  that  I  have  been 
with  his  party. 

In  the  year  1839  a  storm  laid  my  father's  wheat  crop 
flat  on  the  ground  when  it  was  ripe  for  the  harvest.  For 
this  cause  the  entire  crop  was  cut  with  hand  sickles.  The 
harvesters  were  paid  fifty  cents  per  day.  The  thrashing 
machine  came  to  the  farm  that  year.  A  four  horse  cog 
wheel  power — a  tumbling  shaft  connecting  the  power 
with  a  rapidly  revolving  cylinder  set  thickly  with  iron 
spikes  for  teeth.  The  straw  band  of  each  sheaf  was  cut 
by  hand;  the  straw  shaken  loosely  apart  and  slowly  fed 
into  the  cylinder.  Straw  and  grain  came  out  together. 

The  straw  was  raked  off  with  a  hand  rake  and 
stacked  by  hand.  When  chaff  and  grain  accumulated  in 
front  of  the  cylinder  so -as  to  become  an  obstruction,  the 
machine  was  stopped  and  the  grain  and  chaff  raked  up 
into  a  rail  pen  prepared  for  that  purpose.  When  the 
thrashing  machine  departed  the  windmill  came  in  and 
blew  the  grain  and  the  chaff  apart  from  each  other. 
Tramping  the  straw  stack  and  'turning  the  crank  of  the 
windmill  were  tasks  usually  turned  over  to  the  boys.  Un- 
less my  memory  is  greatly  at  fault  they  were  the  most 
wearying  tasks  in  which  I  ever  engaged. 

The  Presidential  campaign  of  the  year  1840  gave  me 
my  first  lesson  in  politics.  It  was  a  time  of  real  business 


10  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

distress.  The  country  was  flooded  with  the  currency  of 
banks  existing  by  authority  of  state  legislation.  There 
was  no  national  currency.  Many  of  the  banks  were  irre- 
sponsible and  their  notes  were  below  par,  or  wholly  ir- 
redeemable. The  effect  of  this  bad  money  was  to  drive 
that  which  was  better  out  of  circulation.  The  Whig  party 
with  General  William  Henry  Harrison  as  its  candidate, 
favored  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank,  the  issue 
of  national  currency,  and  the  passage  of  a  tariff  law  that 
would  protect  American  industries.  The  democratic 
party  with  Martin  Van  Buren  as  its  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion opposed  both  of  these  measures.  Great  mass  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Newark  by  both  parties  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  1840.  Thomas  Corwin  was  the  principal  speaker  at 
the  Whig  meeting  and  John  Brough  at  the  democratic 
meeting.  I  was  in  the  Whig  crowd  and  listened  attentive- 
ly to  Corwin 's  argument  in  favor  of  money  issued  by 
national  authority.  To  me  his  argument  was  convincing. 
I  was  then,  and  ever  since  then  have  been  satisfied  of  the 
superiority  of  a  national  currency  over  any  currency  that 
has  been,  or  can  be,  created  by  state  authority.  This 
seems  now  to  be  settled  beyond  controversy.  The  same 
democratic  party  that  for  more  than  half  a  century  held 
as  one  of  its  established  "  doctrines  and  traditions ' '  that  a 
national  bank  was  unconstitutional,  has  in  this  present 
year  passed  a  national  banking  law  that  goes  beydnd  any- 
thing advocated  by  either  Federalists  or  Whigs.  All  par- 
ties have  become  progressives. 

The  tariff  presented  a  more  difficult  question.  It  is1 
not  easily  understood.  So  many  business  interests  are  af- 
fected by  tariff  laws  that  they  must  of  necessity  be  often 
readjusted  and  changed.  Free  trade  presents  an  attrac- 
tive theory  which  has  never  been  deemed  practicable  in 
this  country.  A  tariff  for  revenue  only  has  been  much  ad- 
vocated, but  its  advocates  have  never  dared  to  apply  it 
pure  and  simple.  They  have  always  used  an  admixture  of. 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  11 

protection:  I  have  accepted  the  teaching  of  Henry  Clay. 
1  hold  that  the  infant  industries  of  the  United  States 
have  been  rightfully  protected.  I  hold  that  the  giant  in- 
dustries of  the  present  day  have  been  unduly  and  unwise- 
ly protected  to  the  great  injury  of  the  American  people. 

Some- of  the  incidents  of  the  mass  meetings  at  New- 
ark are  recalled.  Hon.  David  <Todd,  democratic  candi- 
date for  Governor,  was  charged  with  having  said  that  he 
would  prefer  pot  metal  dollars,  to  national  bank  notes.  In 
response  to  ttiis  a  furnace  mounted*  on  wheels  and  drawn 
by  twenty-one  horses,  and  a  ragged  btoy  astride  of,  each 
horse,  passed  along  the  principal  streets  casting  pot  metal 
dollars  and  tossing  l&eni  into ;  the  streets,  The  Whigs 
had  numerous  Buckeye;  cabins  on  wfyeejs,  with  barrels  of 
cider  aboard,,  with^  gourds  fqr  drinking  vessels.  Live 
coons  climbed  about  some  of^th^se  cabins,  and  coon  skins 
were  naile4  on  the  outer  walls.  The  occasion  was  a  gr,eat 
one  to  me.'  I  returned  home  with,  broader  views  of  life. 
New  ambitions  were  budding.  Dazzling  expectations  th-at 
reached  far  out  into  the  years  of  my  coming  manhooel 
arose  before  me. 

In  1841  the  family  residence  was  changed  to  a  farm 
on  the  Lancaster  road  south  of  Kirkersville.  In  1845  an- 
other change  was  made  to  a  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  adjoining  the  village.  A  considerable  part 
of  the  land  was  heavily  timbered.  There  was  much  log- 
ging and  heavy  hauling  to  be  done,  and  of  this  I  had  my 
full  share.  The  logging  was  done  with  cattle,  and  I  be- 
came an  oxdriver  and  succeeded  quite  well  without  swear- 
ing at  the  oxen. 

Until  the  year  1845  the  domestic  economy  of  the  fam- 
ily included  a  yearly  flax  patch,  arid  the  manufacture  of 
linen  for  domestic  uses  such  as  trousers,  shirts,  sheets,  ta- 
ble cloths  and  towels.  I  became  practically  familiar  with 
every  process  from  the  sowing  of  the  seed  to,  but  not  in- 
cluding, the  spinning  of  the  flax.and.tow  into  thread  ready 


12  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

for  the  loom.  When  the  time  came  that  blue  drilling  for 
trousers  and  coarse  brown  muslin  for  shirts  could  be 
bought  for  twenty-five  cents  a  yard,  the  flax  business  was 
abandoned. 

As  a  farmer  my  father  was  thrifty  and  successful. 
In  the  purchase  and  sale  of  lands  he  had  made  very 
handsome  gains.  His  credit  was  good,  and  he  main- 
tained it  by  prompt  payment  of  his  personal  obliga- 
tions. But  he  had  a  friend  whose  business  was  the  pur- 
chase of  horses  in  Ohio  and  their  sale  in  eastern  markets. 
The  man  had  a  good  reputation  and  the  business  seemed 
to  be  profitable.  Father  habitually  endorsed  for  him 
and  he  made  prompt  payment  until  the  last  note  which 
was  for  ten  thousand  dollars.  The  horses  were  bought 
and  driven  away.  The  man  disappeared  and  if  he  was 
ever  heard  of  again  by  his  relatives  or  acquaintances  in 
Ohio  I  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  This  and  my  father's 
own  debts  swept  away  all  that  he  had  and  left  him  a  poor 
man.  The  crash  came  in  the  winter  of  1848  and  1849. 
My  brother,  Nicholas,  and  myself  took  in  the  situation, 
and  in  February,  1849,  we  joined  the  procession  of  west- 
bound emigrants  and  started  to  Illinois  with  a  two  horse 
team  and  wagon. 

Turn  back  with  me  now  to  my  school  days,  and  learn 
some  of  the  difficulties  that  attended  the  education  of 
boys  and  girls  when  I  was  a  boy.  In  the  year  1836  I  at- 
tended a  summer  school  taught  by  Miss  Ann  Green,  the 
daughter  of  a  neighboring  farmer.  The  school  house 
was  a  mile  from  my  home.  Half  the  way  was  a  blazed 
path  through  an  unbroken  forest.  The  school  house 
was  near  the  center  of  a  small  cleared  spot  surrounded 
by  timber  on  every  side.  It  was  built  of  round  logs  with 
the  bark  still  on  them.  The  roof  was  of  clapboards  held 
on  with  weighting  poles.  The  floor  was  of  puncheons 
split  out  of  oak  logs  and  hewed  to  an  approximate  level 
on  one  side.  The  door  in  the  east  side  was  of  split 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  13 

boards  nailed  on  battens  and  hung  on  wooden  hinges 
which  were  greased  to  keep  them  from  squeaking.  The 
hearth,  jambs  and  back  wall  of  the  wide  fireplace  were 
made  of  stiff  puddled  clay.  The  chimney  was  of  split 
sticks  built  up  like  a  trap  and  filled  in  and  plastered  with 
stiff  clay  mortar.  Out  of  the  west  side  and  south  end  a 
log  had  been  cut..  Into  the  space  thus  made  split  sticks 
were  placed  perpendicularly.  Over  these  sticks  white 
paper  had  been  pasted  and  then  greased  to  let  in  the 
light.  The  benches  were  made  by  splitting  round  logs  in- 
to halves  and  dressing  the  flat  sides  with  a  broadaxe. 
Legs  to  the  benches  were  made  by  boring  auger  holes  in 
the  round  side  and  driving  legs  into  the  holes  of  such 
lengths  as  seemed  to  correspond  with  the  length  of  the 
legs  belonging  to  the  girls  and  boys.  There  were  no 
backs  to  any  of  them.  The  writing  desk  was  under  the 
greased  paper  window  on  the  west  side.  It  was  made 
by  driving  wooden  pins  into  auger  holes  bored  into  the 
log  under  the  window,  and  laying  a  loose  plank  on  the 
pins. 

The  school  house  had  been  finished  in  the  winter 
and  in  obtaining  unfrozen  clay  for  the  fireplace  and 
chimney  and  to  "daub"  the  walls  a  wide  deep  hole  had 
been  dug  out  under  the  floor.  This  was  used  by  Miss 
Green  as  a  dungeon  in  which  she  sometimes  imprisoned 
pupils  who  were  guilty  of  violating  her  rules.  On  one 
occasion  she  sentenced  a  girl  to  the  dungeon.  The  pun- 
tiheon  door  was  raised.  The  girl  was  stubborn  and  re- 
fused to  enter.  Entreaty  accompanied  with  force  was 
being  used  to  make  her  take  her  punishment,  when  Lucy 
Rolinson  spoke  up  and  said,  "I  seed  a  lizzard  in  there 
yesterday. ' '  The  culprit  became  frantic,  and  her 
screams  and  struggles  saved  her  and  closed  that  prison 
door  for  the  term. 

My  one  book  in  that  school  was  a  red  backed  Web- 
ster's Elementary  Spelling  Book,  and  it  was  the  pride 


14 


of  my  life.  I  intended  to  keep  it  for  life,  and  did  keep 
it  for  a  number  of  years.  My  mother  had  taught  me  the- 
alphabet  and  led  me  into  words  of  two  letters.  In  Miss 
Green's  school  I  learned  to  read  the  one  syllable  reading 
lessons  and  the  spelling  lessons.  I  did  not  attend  the  suc- 
ceeding winter  school  but  was  taught  to  spell  and  read 
by  my  mother.  The  next  summer  school  was  taught  by 
Miss  Khoda  Green,  who  seemed  to  be  in  love  with  every 
one  of  her  pupils,  and  was  leader  of  the  school  in  both 
work  and  play.  She  led  me  into  the  very  depths  of  the 
Elementary  spelling  book.  I  began  to  be  proud  of  my 
progress  in  learning:  I  was  called  a  lazy  boy  in  other 
fields  of  industry,  but  I  was  not  la^y  in  my  school  studies. 

The  winter  'following  the  school  was  taught  by  Dr. 
Norris,  a  tall,  black  eyed  man  with  long  black  hair  and 
a  very  prominent  nose.  He  was  kind  and  gentle  but  in- 
exorable in  government.  He  read  most  entertainingly  and 
taught  reading  and  spelling  in  a  way  that  would  be  a 
marked  improvement  in  many  schools  at  this  time.  He 
required  each  pupil  in  the  large  spelling  class  to  give  a 
definition  of  each  word  spelled.  An  incorrect  definition 
was  the  same  as  a  word  mispelled.  Each  pupil  was  al- 
lowed to  ask  him  once  for  the  definition  of  a  word.  His 
answer  came  quick,  clear  and  brief,  and  could  be  heard 
by  all  in  the  room.  I  was  in  the  little  spelling  class. 
These  definitions  interested  me.  -I  was  a  thoughtful  list- 
ener and  profited  much  by  them. 

The  Christmas  treat  given  by  the  school  master  was 
so  unique  that  it  lingers  in  my  memory  even  unto  this 
day.  In  the  morning  a  grain  bag  was  standing  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  school  room.  What  it  contained 
remained  a  mystery  until  the  hour  of  noon  was  approach- 
ing. The  great  log  fire  had  burned  down  into  coals  and 
ashes.  The  master  took  up  the  wide  long  handled  shovel 
and  scraped  out  the  coals  and  ashes  until  he  had  a  large 
space  cleaned  down  to  the  hot  clay  hearth.  Then  he  re- 


ETHELBERT   CALLAHAN  15 

vealed  the  mystery  of  the  grain  bag  by  pouring  from  it 
Into  the  cleared  place  a  bushel  of  Keshanoch  potatoes. 
He  covered  them  carefully  with  ashes  and  then  with  live 
coals ., of  fire.  At  noon  the  potatoes^  roasted  to  a  turn, 
were  distributed  and  made  a  Christmas  dinner  that  has 
kept  the  little  log  school  house,  the  kind-hearted  school 
master,  his  roasted  potatoes  and  the  dinner  in  perpetual 
remembrance." 

In  the  winter  of  183&-1839  I  was  at  the  home  of  my 
uncle,  Eli  Holmes,  and  attended  school  at  the  Refugee 
school  house  in  Fairfield  county.  Here  I  was  advanced 
to  the  first  spelling  class  and  made  an  earnest  contest  for 
the  premium  awarded  to  the  one  who  obtained  the  most 
head  marks.  I  did  not  win,  but  stood  next  to  the  girl 
who  did.  I  also  received  the  only  punishment  that  I  ever 
received  in  school.  That  it  was  unjust  and  inflicted  by  a 
teacher  whom  I  dearly  loved,  caused  my  wounded  feel- 
ings to  suffer  more  than  my  body.  The  writing  desk 
was  a  shelf  against  the  wall  and  the  seat  was  not  high 
enough  to  get  my  arms  comfortably  up  to  it.  I  raised 
myself  by  sitting  on  one  of  my  feet  with  the  other  pro- 
truding behind  me.  Without  a  word  of  reproof  or  warn- 
ing he  struck  my  protruding  foot  a  severe  lick  with  a 
switch  that  seemed  to  lap  clear  around  my  foot  and  cut 
wherever  it  touched.  A  man  may  forget  such  an  act  of 
injustice,  but  a  boy  will  remember  it  all  his  life. 

The  next  two  winters  I  attended  school  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Kirkersville.  The  school  house  had  one  room, 
miserably  furnished  and  always  crowded  in  winter.  The 
school  terms  were  short  and  I  cannot  say  that  I  profited 
much  by  these  schools  save  only  in  learning  to  read.  I 
had  been  made  to  believe  that  I  was  a  good  reader  when 
I  was  in  fact  a  poor  one.  A  Mr.  Brindly  from  Boston  was 
the  teacher  who  discovered  my  mistake  to  me.  I  took  my 
place  in  a  reading  class  and  when  my  time  to  read  came 
I  said  the  words  of  a  paragraph.  When  I  finished  his 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

blunt  question  was  ''Do  you  call  that  reading?  I  do  not 
call  that  reading.  Now  listen  while  I  read  the  para- 
graph." I  did  listen  and  by  listening  I  learned  the  dif- 
ference between  reading  arid  merely  saying  words.  I 
have  never  forgotten  the  lesson.  Spelling  schools  and 
spelling  matches  were  then  prevalent.  I  took  great  pride 
in  them  and  availed  myself  of  every  opportunity  to  join 
in  them.  I  became  a  champion  speller  and  was  the  victor 
in  some  hotly  contested  matches. 

A  sing-song  method  of  teaching  geography  from 
maps  hung  in  sight  of  a  whole  class  in  night  schools  was 
in  vogue.  I  attended  a  session  of  one  of  these  schools  and 
acquired  a  fairly  good  knowledge  of  the  location  and 
boundaries  of  the  several  nations  of  the  world,  the  loca- 
tion and  names  of  their  capitals  and  principal  cities, 
lakes,  and  rivers. 

I  commenced  the  study  of  Kirkham's  English  Gram- 
mar, but  I  obtained  much  more  and  better  practical 
knowledge  of  language  from  a  series  of  lectures  delivered 
by  Dr.  Benjamin  P.  Furguson.  He  was  a  disciple  of 
Lindley  Murray,  an  elegant  public  speaker  and  a  most 
successful  instructor.  From  early  spring  until  late  in  the 
fall  season  I  was  at  work  on  the  farm,  but  kept  up  my 
studies  and  reading.  I  availed  myself  of  such  opportun- 
ities as  came  to  me  to  obtain  such  knowledge  as  might 
be  useful,  or  bring  satisfaction  later  in  my  life. 

In  the  autumn  of  1847  I  entered  the  preparatory  de- 
partment of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware 
with  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  collegiate  education.  I  went 
home  at  the  holiday  vacation  and  never  returned.  My 
school  days  were  over  and  forever  gone.  My  ambition  to 
obtain  such  an  education  as  would  enable  me  to  enter  up- 
on a  professional  life  was  crushed.  Hard  labor  under 
most  discouraging  conditions  was  continued  until  I  came 
to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1849. 

Several  years  before  that  time  a  tide  of  emigration 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  17 

had  set  in  from  Licking  county,  Ohio,  to  Crawford  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  and  it  still  continued.  Letters  from  those 
who  had  emigrated  caused  others  to  follow.  Among 
those  who  came  before  we  came  were  some  prominent 
men.  I  readily  recall  the  names  of  some  of  them.  There 
was  John  Vance,  Isaac  and  Jacob  Wilkin,  Samuel  and 
James  Lamb,  Preston  Coulter,  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Fidlar  and 
my  uncles,  Isaac  Green  and  John  Glaze.  My  brother, 
Nicholas,  was  of  age  and  owned  a  team  and  wagon.  I 
was  under  age  and  did  not  own  any  property.  We  con- 
cluded to  join  the  tide  of  emigrants,  and  try  our  fortunes 
in  the  new  country,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  February, 
with  our  younger  brother,  Rufus,  and  Noah  Wilkin,  a 
neighbor,  we  started  .west  along  the  National  road.  All 
along  were  road  houses  and  wayside  taverns  where  en- 
tertainment could  be  had  as  cheap  or  as  expensive  as  one 
might  choose.  The  season  of  emigration  was  the  harvest 
time  of  these  places.  There  were  also  camping  places 
where  the  wagons  of  emigrants  were  parked  at  night. 
Log  fires  wTere  built  and  meals  cooked  and  eaten.  In  the 
wagons,  under  the  wagons  and  in  such  sheltered  places  as 
could  be  found  beds  were  made  and  families  slept.  It 
was  not  unusual  to  see  several  families  in  the  same  camp. 
After  the  evening  meal  the  campers  often  visited,  made 
acquaintances  and  talked  of  their  hope  to  find  fortunes 
more  favorable  in  the  new  country  to  which  they  were 
going  than  in  the  older  one  they  had  left  behind.  These 
camping  places  had  many  attractions.  An  air  of  romance 
and  adventure  pervaded  them.  They  were  also  spectac- 
ular. The  glowing  camp  fires  sent  clouds  of  smoke  and 
showers  of  brilliant  sparks  up  through  the  spreading 
branches  of  the  trees.  Busy  wives  and  daughters  gliding 
into  the  lights  and  into  the  darkness  while  cooking  meals, 
or  preparing  beds  for  the  night's  slumber  and  rest.  Men 
and  boys  caring  for  the  tired  horses  and  the  family  cow; 
gathering  fuel,  or  purchasing  and  bringing  in  supplies 


18  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

from  the  adjacent  farm  houses.  The  silence  often  broken 
by  a  loud  laugh,  or  a  snatch  of  some  popular  melody  — 
and  again  by  a  hymn  or  a  prayer.  Taken  altogether  an 
emigrant  camp  has  presented  pictures  of  life  that  will 
long  live  in  the  memory  of  those  who  have  looked  upon, 
or  have  been  a  part  of  them. 

When  we  started  on  our  westward  journey  my  fath- 
er and  mother  requested  us  not  to  travel  on  Sunday.  We 
promised,  but  did  not  keep  our  promise.  The  first  Sat- 
urday evening  that  we  were  out  was  cold  and  stormy 
and  we  turned  in  at  a  tavern  in  a  small  village  intending 
to  remain  until  Monday.  The  public  room  of  the  tavern 
had  a  bar.  On  Sunday  morning  the  idlers  of  the  village 
begun  to  come  in  and  patronize  the  bar.  The  fumes  of 
liquor,  and  language  that  would  not  bear  printing  per- 
fumed the  air  and  were  offensive  to  the  ear.  The  atmos- 
phere, both  physical  and  moral,  was  so  uncongenial  that 
we  took  to  the  road  and  made  a  Sabbath  day's  journey. 
We  explained  and  were  forgiven. 

Two  years  later  I  traveled  from  Lexington,  Ohio,  to 
Crawford  county,  Illinois,  in  company  of  a  family  of 
relatives  who  were  moving  to  Illinois.  It  was  in  the  sum- 
mertime and  the  tide  of  emigration  was  in  full  flow.  The 
party  camped  by  the  wayside  each  night.  This  out  of 
door  life  was  romantic  and  I  enjoyed  it  very  much.  Lat- 
er the  railroads  came  and  furnished  more  rapid  means  of 
transportation.  Emigrant  wagon  trains  disappeared. 
The  wayside  camp  fires  ceased  to  glow.  The  sheltering 
trees  yielded  to  the  woodman's  axe  and  the  camping 
grounds  became  fields  of  rustling  corn  and  waving  wheat. 
The  National  road  ceased  to  be  national  and  fell  into  dis- 
use as  a  highway  for  the  restless  tide  of  emigration  that 
was  flowing  irresistibly  westward. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  March,  1849,  my  brother  and  his 
party  arrived  at  the  home  of  Hon.  Isaac  Wilkin,  on 
Mount  Pleasant,  where  we  received  a  very  cordial  wel- 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  19 

come.  It  was  the  end  of  a  long,  toilsome  journey,  in  the 
inclement  weather  and  over  muddy  roads.  The  accidents 
and  incidents  of  this  journey,  if  written  out  in  detail, 
would  be  too  lengthy  for  this  sketch.  I  was  now  in  a 
new  country  and  had  my  life  and  fortune  before  me.  I 
had  no  one  to  look  to,  or  depend  upon  but  myself.  I  had 
remaining,  a  cash  capital  of  seventy-five  cents  to  begin 
with.  There  was  no  time  to  loiter.  I  made  my  home 
with  my  uncle  Isaac  Green.  He  wanted  rails  made  and 
land  fenced.  My  brother  and  myself  made  about  six 
thousand  rails,  hauled  them  over  three  miles,  and  built 
them  into  fences.  The  rails  were  made  on  congress 
land.  The  best  men  to  be  found  in  that  day  were  tim- 
ber thieves.  No  settler's  conscience  seemed  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  knowledge  that  he  was  trespassing  on 
Government,  in  order  to  save  the  timber  on  the  land  the 
Government  had  sold  to  him  for  one  dollar  and  twenty- 
five  cents  an  acre. 

My  brother  and  myself  rented  a  farm  of  Mr.  James 
Lamb  and  raised  an  extra  good  crop  of  corn  and  oats. 
Mr.  Lamb  was  an  arbitrary  and  unreasonable  landlord. 
The  controversies  we  had  with  him  made  me  solemnly 
promise  myself  never  to  cultivate  any  land  on  my  own 
account  until  I  owned  it.  The  ownership  of  land  is  a 
condition  precedent  to  independent  and  successful 
farming. 

In  August  of  the  same  year  my  father  and  mother 
and  our  remaining  brothers  and  sisters  came.  A  cabin 
was  hastily  built  in  Bear  Grove  and  the  family  occupied 
it.  This  was  about  four  miles  from  the  crop  we  had 
raised.  Nicholas  and  myself  shucked  the  corn  and  our 
younger  brothers,  James  and  Rufus,  hauled  and  cribbed 
it  at  the  Bear  Grove  residence.  When  not  engaged  with 
our  own  work  we  found  employment  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. In  this  manner  the  maintainence  of  the  family 
during  the  coming  winter  was  provided  for. 


20  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

In  December  I  began  to  teach  school  at  the  Hamil- 
ton school  house,  four  miles  west  of  Greenup.  My  con- 
tract was  for  fifteen  dollars  per  month  and  board  around 
at  the  homes  of  my  pupils.  This  feature  of  the  contract 
was  not  pleasing  to  me,  but  I  accepted  it  because  I  must 
have  a  job.  Mr.  Hamilton  proposed  that  if  I  would  help 
his  older  children,  who  were  not  to  go  to  school,  with 
their  studies  at  home,  he  would  board  me  for  seventy- 
five  cents  a  v  eek.  I  accented  his  proposition  and  made 
my  home  with  the  Hamilton's  during  the  term:  There 
was  one  large  room  in  which  the  family  lived,  and  in 
which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton,  their  tv^o  daup:hters,  three 
sons  and  myself  slept.  We  were  pioneers,  living  in  pion- 
eer times,  and  we  understood  the  situation  and  conformed 
to  it. 

The  law  required  sixty  days  teaching  in  a  three 
months  term.  I  taught  six  days  in  each  week  and  so 
completed  the  term  in  ten  weeks.  After  paying  my 
board  I  had  thirty-six  dollars  left.  I  was  richer  then 
than  I  have  ever  been  since. 

I  had  in  that  school  an  enrollment  of  over  eighty, 
?nd  the  daily  attendance  was  quite  full.  Grades  in 
schools  were  then  unknown,  and  owing  to  the  diversity 
of  books,  no  classes  other  than  the  t\vo  classes  in  spelling. 
I  made  the  entire  school  a  class  in  geography,  and  taught 
from  maps  hung  against  the  wall.  A  map  of  the  two 
hemispheres  was  being  used,  and  I  asked  how  these  two 
flat  pictures  could  be  made  to  represent  the  earth  that 
was  round  like  a  ball.  A  small  boy  answered,  "Turn 
their  backs  together  and  stuff  them."  The  principal 
studies  pursued  were  spelling,  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  In  writing,  quill  pens  were  used  which  the 
"Master"  must  make  and  mend.  This  was  my  most 
difficult  task.  Some  pens  were  condemned  because  they 
were  too  stiff,  others  because  they  were  too  limber,  and 
Rome  because  they  would  spatter.  No  series  of  school 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  21 

books  had  ever  appeared  in  that  school.  Each  one  se- 
lected his  or  her  own  reading  book.  In  arithmetic,  I 
found  Adams,  Daboll,  Smith,  Smiley,  Stockton,  Pike,  and 
Ray.  Classification  was  an  impossibility.  Two  young- 
men  came  with  Davies.'  Elementary  Geometry.  I  had 
never  studied  geometry,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  it.  I 
borrowed  one  of  the  books  and  gave  it  a  night  of  faithful 
study.  Thereafter  I  was  prepared  to  teach  geometry. 
I  kept  in  advance  of  them,  and  they  never  knew  that  I 
was  taking  my  first  lesson  as  much  as  they  were. 

The  summer  following,  I  assisted  my  father  on  the 
farm.  A  good  corn  crop  was  raised.  Up  to  that  time  I 
had  seen  no  wheat  grow  on  the  clay  prairie  land,  where 
it  was  said  that  wheat. would  not  grow.  Father  believed 
that  it  would  grow  and  sowed  some  ten  or  twelve  acres 
on  prairie  sod  broken  during  the  summer.  It  produced 
a  good  crop.  That  winter  I  taught  school  in  a  log  school 
house  in  the  Wilkin  neighborhood.  My  pupils  consisted 
largely  of  my  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  cousins  and 
children  of  recent  emigrants  from  Ohio.  It  was  a  pleas- 
ant winter  to  me  though  crowded  full  of  hard  work. 

In  the  spring  of  1851  I  began  to  teach  a  summer 
school  in  the  village  of  Hutsonville.  The  boys  and  girls 
who  came  to  that  school  appeared  to  have  little  idea 
of  discipline  and  order.  Rules,  to  them,  were  things  to 
be  broken.  They  learned  to  obey  rules  and  keep  order 
in  school  before  I  quit  them. 

A  committee  of  citizens  came  to  the  school  house 
one  June  day  and  asked  me  to  make  a  speech  at  the  then 
coming  Fourth  of  July  celebration.  I  had  never  made 
a  public  speech,  but  had  cherished  the  thought  that  I 
could.  I  accepted  the  invitation  and  a  week  before  the 
fourth  I  dismissed  my  school  in  order  to  prepare  my 
speech.  I  wrote  it  in  full  with  all  the  adjectives  that  I 
could  crowd  into  it.  Then  I  committed  it  to  memory  and 
declaimed  it  to  the  winds  several  times  by  way  of  prac- 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

tice.  I  made  the  speech  and  succeeded  so  well  that  I  con- 
tracted the  habit  of  making  speeches,  and  I  have  never 
been  either  able  or  willing  to  quit  the  habit.  That  speech 
ended  my  career  as  a  school  teacher. 

It  was  at  Hutsonville  that  I  saw  the  first  daguerrotype. 
A  Mr.  Fuller  was  there  practicing  the  new  art  of  taking 
pictures  on  silver  plates.  My  vanity  or  curiosity,  or 
both,  caused  me  to  sit  for  a  picture  of  myself  which  I 
still  have,  and  which  has  been  copied  for  this  publication. 

After  the  celebration  was  over  I  took  employment 
with  Preston  Brothers,  general  merchants,  and  dealers 
in  all  kinds  of  country  produce,  at  Hutsonville,  Illinois. 
I  had  then  given  up  all  thought  of  making  a  lawyer  out 
of  myself  and  concluded  that  I  would  be  a  merchant.  I 
then  knew  nothing  about  the  business.  My  employers 
conducted  what  is  now  known  as  a  department  store. 
They  sold  everything  that  a  farmer  or  mechanic  could 
possibly  want. 

At  the  end  of  my  first  day  I  determined  to  quit.  I 
told  Mr.  Preston  that  I  had  been  kept  the  most  of  the  day 
in  the  ware  house  selling  tar  and  whiskey  and  that  I 
was  willing  to  do  hard  work  and  sell  tar  and  everything 
else  they  had  to  sell,  but  whiskey.  I  told  him  that  upon 
no  possible  condition  would  I  sell  or  handle  intoxicating 
liquor.  He  said  I  need  not,  and  I  was  not  asked  to  sell 
any  more  liquor  during  the  year  that  I  remained  in  their 
employment.  At  the  end  of  a  year  I  quit.  I  wanted  an 
occupation  in  which  I  could  be  personally  independent. 
I  went  to  my  father's  home,  near  Neoga,  Illinois.  I  knew 
farming  and  concluded  to  settle  down  to  that.  I  went 
to  Vandalia  and  bought  eighty  acres  of  timber  land.  I 
could  not  get  the  prairie  eighty  that  I  wanted.  I  was 
not  ready  to  do  any  work  on  the  land  I  had  bought. 
Winter  was  coming  on  and  the  necessity  of  earning  some- 
thing was,  on  me.  I  returned  to  Hutsonville  and  took 
employment  with  J.  A.  Merrick  &  Co.,  merchants,  packers 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  23 

and  dealers  in  farm  produce.  This  gave  me  work  and 
fair  wages  during  the  winter. 

Caswell  Jones  and  Liberty  Murphy  had  established 
a  newspaper  with  Charles  T.  Cutler  as  editor  and  man- 
ager. Cutler's  management  was  not  approved  by  Jones 
and  Murphy  and  he  went  away.  The  printing  office  was 
then  turned  over  to  me  and  I  became  editor  and  man- 
ager. I  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  and  called  it 
"'The  Wabash  Sentinel,"  and  continued  to  edit  and  pub- 
lish it  until  the  spring  of  1854,  when  I  sold  out  to  Knapp 
Brothers,  and  went  to  Marshall  to  edit  "The  Marshall 
Telegraph. ' '  At  that  time  the  messages  of  the  President 
were  not  printed  and  sent  out  in  advance  of  their  deliv- 
ery, as  they  are  now.  President  Pierce  was  inaugurated 
on  the  fourth  of  March,  1853.  James  S.  Wilhite  was 
telegraph  operator  at  Hutsonville.  He  informed  me  that 
the  President 's  inaugural  address  would  be  sent  to  Chi- 
cago over  his  line  and  he  could  take  it  off  for  me  if  I 
wanted  it.  Of  course  I  wante4  it.  When  the  reading 
commenced  in  Washington,  the  telegraph  commenced 
its  transmission.  Mr.  Wilhite  took  it  and  before  night  I 
had  it  in  print  at  Hutsonville.  I  sold  papers  on  boats 
that  passed  up  and  down  the  river  and  the  next  day  the 
Terre  Haute  and  Vincennes  papers  copied  it  and  gave 
credit  to  the  Sentinel. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  June,  1854,  I  married 
Mrs.  Mary  Barlow  Jones,  of  Hutsonville.  Her  son,  Will- 
iam, C.,  was  then  about  six  years  old,  and  a  bright  promis- 
ing boy.  The  apparent  anxiety  of  some  of  my  wife's 
relatives  for  his  welfare,  and  their  fear  that  I  would 
abuse  him  and  waste  his  property,  were  both  provoking 
and  amusing  to  me.  The  clean  life,  high  character  and 
honorable  career  of  Judge  William  C.  Jones,  long  ago 
•demonstrated  that  their  fears  were  not  well  grounded. 

Our  daughter,  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Mary  Callahan 
Mercer,  was  born  on  the  eighth  day  of  April,  1861.  She 


24  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

attended  select  and  public  schools  in  Robinson,  and  was 
graduated  at  the  Illinois  Woman's  College  at  Jackson- 
ville, Illinois.  She  was  appointed  by  Governor  Joseph  W. 
Fifer  as  a  commissioner  for  the  state  of  Illinois  at  the 
World 's  Fair  in  Chicago  in  1893,  and  was  secretary  of  the 
Board.  The  Illinois  Board  claims  the  distinction  of  being 
the  only  board  that  paid  all  of  its  expenses  and  returned 
a  surplus  of  the  money  appropriated. 

The  year  1854  is  memorable  on  account  of  the  rise 
and  successful  campaign  of  the  Native  American  or 
Know  Nothing  party.  It  was  a  protest  against  certain 
foreign  political  and  religious  influences  which  were 
deemed  to  have  acquired  an  undue  and  dubious  control  in 
certain  departments  of  the  government,  both  state  aud 
national.  The  nucleus  of  the  party  was  a  secret  organ- 
ization whose  members  when  questioned  in  regard  to  its 
aims,  principles  or  purposes,  uniformly  answered,  "I 
don't  know,  do  you.'-'  The  mystery  of  its  doings  was 
attractive  and  many  men.  of  all  parties  joined  it.  |The 
Whig  party  was  in  a  state  of  dissolution  and  many 
Whigs  took  temporary  political  shelter  in  the  Know 
Nothing  lodges.  The  race  for  Congress  that  year  in  our 
district  was  intensely  interesting.  Hon\  James  C.  Allen 
was  the  Democratic  candidate,  and  Colonel  William  B. 
Archer  was  the  candidate  of  the  new  National  American 
party.  The  democrats  made  the  usual  political  canvass 
in  the  open.  They  had  mass  meetings,  processions  and 
speeches.  Their  opponents  concealed  their  operations 
all  that  they  could.  There  was  no  public  mustering  of 
their  forces.  The  returns  of  the  election  were  slow  in 
coming  in  and  for,  probably  a  month,  the  result  was  in 
doubt.  ..finally  it  was  announced  that  Allen  had  a  major- 
ity of  one.  On  the  day  of  the  election  a  claim  was  made 
that  there  was  a  miscount  of  the  ballots  cast  at  Livings- 
ton, in  Clark  county.  On  this  ground  Archer  contested 
the  election  and  the  evidence  taken  in  the  contest  sus- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN,  1887 


MRS.  MARY  BARLOW  CALLAHAN. 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  25 

tainecl  the  claim  of  a  miscount  and  gave  Archer  a  major- 
ity of  one  vote  over  Allen.  The  contest  lingered  along 
in  Congress  until  the  Philadelphia  convention  that  nom- 
inated John  C.  Freemont  for  President.  Archer  went  to 
the  convention  and  was  made  one  of  its  Vice-Presidents. 
That  cooked  his  goose.  There  were  some  Know  Nothings 
from  southern  states  in  Congress  whose  votes  were  neces- 
sary to  decide  the  contest  in  favor  of  Archer.  They 
would  not  vote  to  seat  Allen  or  Archer.  The  seat  was 
declared  to  be  vacant.  Another  election  was  held  and 
Allen  was  elected.  Know  Nothingism  was  on  the  wane. 

The  Whig  party  was  then  in  the  throes  of  its  final 
dissolution.  I  had  been  a  whig  because  I  believed  in  a 
National  Bank  with  a  National  Currency  and  the  protec- 
tion of  American  labor.  The  Democratic  party  dominat- 
ed by  the  south,  was  grasping  after  territory  out  of  which 
to  make  more  slave  states.  I  had  been  educated  to  be- 
lieve that  slavery  was  morally  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be 
extended.  I  was  ripe  for  the  organization  of  a  political 
party  opposed  to  its  further  extension.  I  naturally  en- 
tered the  Republican  party  as  one  of  its  charter  members. 
No  party  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  has  so  grand 
a  record  as  the  Republican  party.  In  its  later  years, 
practical  politics  has  sometimes  had  the  ascendancy  over 
fundamental  principles  and  led  the  party  into  mistakes 
and  errors.  But  such  errors  have  found  protests  within 
the  party  strong  enough  to  call  it  back  to  the  line  of  pat- 
riotic duty. 

My  desire  to  become  a  lawyer  came  to  life  again. 
My  association  with  some  rather  prominent  Illinois  law- 
yers learned  me  that  a  classical  education  was  not  a  pre- 
requisite to  success  in  the  profession.  I  looked  about  me 
in  search  of  ways  and  means.  I  became  a  candidate  for 
Justice  of  the  Peace  in  a  precinct  that  had  about  one 
hundred  democratic  majority  when  the  Quakers  did  not 
vote.  They  voted  that  year  and  I  was  elected  by  a  ma- 


26  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

jority  of  one.  I  bought  the  last  vote  cast  by  promising 
a  young  democrat  to  marry  him  without  charge  if  I  was 
elected.  I  kept  my  promise.  I  qualified  and  begun  to 
hold  court,  and  marry  folks  that  asked  me  to  marry  them. 
A  presumption  arose  that  I  possesed  an  amount  of 
legal  knowledge  of  which  I  had  never  before  been  sus- 
pected. I  began  in  dead  earnest  to  read  law  so  that  the 
presumption  might  be  justified,  and  grow  into  fact.  I  be- 
gan trying  cases  before  other  Justices,  using  what  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  I  had  acquired  and  guessing  where  I  did 
not  know.  While  I  was  at  Marshall  in  1854, 1  had  formed 
a  close  friendship  with  John  Scholfield,  who  nad  recently 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  and  was  now  the  State's  Attor- 
ney for  this  Judicial  Circuit.  Many  of  the  cases  I  tried 
before  Justices  of  the  Peace  we're  appealed  to  the  Circuit 
Court  and  I  took  in  some  original  cases.  All  these  I 
turned  over  to  Scholfield.  At  the  September  term  of  the 
Circuit  Court  in  1858  he  suggested  that  I  would  better 
obtain  a  lawyer's  license  and  attend  to  my  own  cases.  I 
did  not  believe  that  my  legal  knowledge  was  sufficient, 
and  told  him  so.  He  said  "Get  and  send  to  me  the  cer- 
tificate of  moral  character  required  by  the  statute."  I 
obtained  and  sent  him  the  certificate  and  a  few  weeks 
later  received  a  letter  informing  me  that  on  payment  of 
the  clerk's  fee,  I  would  receive  a  license.  John  Schol- 
field and  Hon.  James  C.  Eobinson  had  been  appointed  by 
the  court  to  examine  me  and  upon  their  personal  knowl- 
edge, and  acquaintance  with  me,  made  a  favorable  report 
and  I  was,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1859, 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  I  knew  bet- 
ter than  others  my  deficiency  in  legal  knowledge  and 
determined  to  make  good  as  soon  as  possible.  I  gave 
day  and  night  to  reading  and  study.  No  case  was  so 
small  that  I  did  not  brief  it  so  far  as  books  of  authority 
were  within  my  reach.  In  July,  1861,  I  moved  my  resi- 
dence to  Robinson  and  opened  an  office.  I  obtained  bus- 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  JONES. 


MARY  CALLAHAN,  Jr..  1892 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  27 

iness  without  delay  and  had  a  measure  of  success  that 
satisfied  and  encouraged  me.  I  continued  my  practice 
at  Robinson  until  the  first  day  of  March,  1911,  when  I 
retired  from  practice  that  I  might  enjoy  the  leisure  that 
I  had  earned  by  half  a  century  of  hard  labor. 

In  1861,  when  I  came  to  Robinson,  Franklin  Robb 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Crawford  county  bar.  He  had  a 
collegiate  education  and  kept  up  his  reading  of  classic 
literature  in  the  language  of  the  original  text  as  long  as 
he  lived.  He  was  a  very  learned  lawyer  and  in  his  pub- 
lic and  private  life  absolutely  clean.  His  law  partner 
was  Hon.  James  C.  Allen  who  resided  at  Palestine. 
He  was  an  eloquent  speaker  and  a  successful  advocate 
before  either  court  or  jury. 

George  W.  Peck  was  a  very  promising  young  lawyer, 
but  had  recently  enlisted  in  the  army  and  never  returned. 
Judge  William  H.  Sterritt  soon  retired  from  practice  on 
account  of  ill  health.  James  H.  Steel,  Edward  S.  Wilson 
and  George  N.  Parker  were  the  remaining  members  of 
the  county  bar.  Wilson  and  Parker  were  young  men 
who  have  since  then  won  success.  I  was  appointed  Mas- 
ter in  Chancery  and  found  considerable  unfinished  busi- 
ness ready  for  me.  Clients  came  and  my  first  year  was 
quite  successful.  A  partnership  with  James  H.  Steel  fol- 
lowed and  continued  one  year.  I  was  without  a  partner 
until  my  step-son,  William  C.  Jones,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  A  partnership  with  him  continued  for  ten  years 
and  was  then  dissolved  by  his  election  to  the  bench. 
Then  a  partnership  was  formed  with  Alfred  H.  Jones 
and  John  C.  Maxwell.  Maxwell  retired  and  Jones  re- 
mained until  1888,  when  Ausby  L.  Lowe  was 
taken  in  and  the  firm  of  Callahan,  Jones  &  Lowe  was 
formed  and  continued  until  I  retired  from  practice  in 
1911.  All  of  my  partners  except  James  H.  Steel  were 
students  in  my  office  before  their  admission. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  my  practice  lawyers  traveled 


28  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

around  the  circuit  with  the  judge  and  circuit  attorney. 
I  attended  the  courts  of  Clark,  Cumberland,  Jasper,  Rich- 
land,  Lawrence  and  Crawford  counties  and  had  a  remun- 
erative business  in  each.  I  have  been  engaged  in  many 
very  important  cases  involving  property,  life,  liberty,  and 
reputation  and  have  had  a  measure  of  success  sufficient 
to  gratify  the  reasonable  ambition  of  any  country  law- 
yer. I  have  defended  many  persons  indicted  for  mur- 
der, and  prosecuted  a  few.  In  prosecutions  where  the 
punishment  might  be  death  I  never  asked  for  a  verdict 
of  murder,  and  in  defense  where  a  conviction  was  in- 
evitable I  sought,  and  in  every  instance  obtained,  a  ver- 
dict for  man-slaughter  only.  I  did  not  desire  to  be,  in 
any  measure  whatever,  responsible  for  the  taking  of  a 
human  life. 

I  became  *a  member  of  the  State  Bar  Association  at 
its  organization  in  1877  and  have  continued  my  member- 
ship. This  brought  me  into  close  relationship  with  many 
of  the  prominent  and  successful  lawyers  of  the  state. 
This  gave  me  many  opportunities  and  advantages  which 
1  appreciated  and  improved.  At  the  January  meeting 
in  1889  I  was  elected  president  of  the  association.  Dur- 
ing the  year  that  I  was  president  the  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation met  at  Chicago  and  it  devolved  upon  me  to  de- 
liver an  address  of  welcome,  which  would  be  responded 
to  by  Hon.  David  Dudley  Field,  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bar  Association.  Mr.  Field  was  a  man  of  national 
reputation  and  stood  at  the  head  of  the  American  bar. 
I  approached  this  duty  with  fear  and  trembling.  It 
took  about  half  of  my  lifetime  to  learn  that  no  matter 
how  distinguished  he  may  be,  or  how  exalted  his  position 
he  is  only  my  fellow-man.  I  prepared  the  little  speech 
that  I  was  to  make  and  carried  it  to  Chicago.  It  was  my 
good  fortune  to  meet  Mr.  Field  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Ho- 
tel the  evening  before  the  Association  met.  On  his  in- 
vitation I  passed  the  evening  with  him  alone  in  his  room. 


ETHELBERT    CALLAHAN  29 

His  cordial  manner  dispelled  all  my  fears.  I  made  my 
speech  without  trepidation  and  received  compliments 
that  were  very  pleasant  to  my  ear.  I  had,  for  several 
years  been  advocating  the  location  of  the  supreme  court 
at  Springfield.  Its  shifting  about  from  place  to  place 
was  neither  convenient  or  dignified.  As  president  of  the 
State  Bar  Association  I  took  a  very  positive  stand  in 
favor  of  the  location  of  the  court.  I  secured  papers 
written  by  ex-judges  of  the  court  favoring  the  location 
at  one  place.  The  sitting  judges  were  shy  on  the  ques- 
tion and  no  expression  of  opinion  could  be  obtained  from 
any  of  them.  Ottawa  and  Mount  Vernon  confronted 
them.  The  agitation  of  the  question  was  not  barren  or 
unfruitful.  It  would  not  down  until  final  success  was 
achieved. 

McKendree  College  conferred  on  me  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws.  The  honor  was  unsolicited  and  came  to 
me  as  a  surprise  and  is  for  that  reason  more  highly  ap- 
preciated. 

The  kindly  relations  existing  between  the  members 
of  the  Crawford  County  bar  and  myself  is  a  ground  of 
pleasure  to  me.  Both  before  and  since  my  retirement 
from  practice  my  brethren  of  the  bar  have  manifested 
their  friendship.  When  I  had  reached  my  four-score 
years  and  was  standing  at  the  threshold  of  my  eighty- 
first  year  the  entire  bar  and  the  county  officers  invaded 
my  house  bearing  with  them  a  large  mahogany  rocking 
chair  which  they  presented  to  me  with  many  words  of 
kindness.  They  presented  me  some  flattering  resolutions 
signed  by  each  of  them  and  then  retired.  The  chair  is 
elegant  to  the  sight,  comfortable  and  restful  to  sit  in  and 
an  ever  present  reminder  of  the  friendship  of  the  donors. 

Five  years  mpre  have  passed  away  when  a  second 
invasion  by  the  bar  occured  and  after  an  hour  of  friendly 
talk  I  was  informed  that  further  proceedings  were  con- 
templated. A  banquet  at  which  I  should  sit  at  the  head 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

of  the  table.  This  banquet  was  given  on  the  thirtieth 
day  of  December,  1914,  in  the  dining  room  of  the  First  M. 
E.  Church  and  was  to  me  an  occasion  of  great  satisfac- 
tion. This  the  last  incident  of  the  kind  that  will  find 
a  place  in  this  book  and  I  will  include  some  extracts  from 
it  given  by  the  Constitution  newspaper. 

"About  thirty  members  of  the  Crawford  county  bary 
with  their  wives  and  best  girls,  assembled  at  the  M.  E. 
church  basement  dining  room  Wednesday  noon  to  enjoy 
a  banquet  in  honor  of  Hon.  E.  Callahan,  dean  of  the 
county  bar,  who  celebrated  his  eighty-fifth  anniversary 
December  17.  On  that  date  the  local  members  of  the  bar 
called  on  Mr.  Callahan  at  his  home,  and,  after  extending 
greetings,  requested  the  pleasure  of  the  banquet  which 
was  granted. 

"The  Ladies  Aid  of  the  M.  E.  church  furnished  the 
spread,  which  consisted  of  roast  turkey  and  all  the  us- 
ual accessories.  After  assembling  in  the  church  parlors 
and  exchanging  greetings  the  party  repaired  to  the  spa- 
cious dining  room  where  the  feast  was  spread.  Judge 
E.  E.  Newlin  was  called,  and  invoked  the  divine  blesr- 
sing. 

"After  full  justice  had  been  done  to  a  well  cooked  and 
well  served  dinner,  Hon.  Geo.  W.  Jones  made  a  short  ad- 
dress, couched  in  most  eloquent  language,  reciting  the 
purpose  of  the  occasion  and  expressing  the  pleasure  af- 
forded the  members  of  the  bar  in  giving  so  slight  a  token 
of  their  esteem  and  respect  for  their  veteran  pro- 
fessional brother.  He  well  said  that  in  endeavoring  to 
honor  him  they  were  doing  honor  unto  themselves.  That 
the  exemplary  life  led  by  the  venerable  pioneer  of  the  bar 
and  the  high  standard  of  professional  ethics  he  has  al- 
ways maintained  has  been  a  source  of  inspiration  to  all 
members  of  the  bar  who  have  come  after  him,  and  will 
be  a  beacon  light  for  many  years  to  come  to  guide  their 


footsteps  along  the  professional  highway.  He  recounted 
that  it  is  much  better  and  more  appropriate  that  these, 
expressions  of  love,  appreciation,  esteem  and  good  will 
be  made  during  the  life  of  the  recipient  than  after  he  had 
been  called  to  the  Great  Beyond  whither  the  rapid  cycles 
of  time  are  carrying  us  all.  Mr.  Callahan  was  visibly  af- 
fected by  the  many  expressions  which  all  felt  were  so 
,uistly  clue  him  and  only  slightly  indexed  our  true  feel- 
ings. When  called  upon  by  Mr.  Jones,  who  acted  as 
toast  master,  the  venerable  counsellor  whose  voice  has 
swayed  courts  and  juries  in  this  and  adjoining  counties 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  could  scarcely  utter 
the  words  which  welled  to  his  lips,  for  the  full- 
ness of  his  heart.  After  thanking  the  members 
of  the  bar  for  the  pleasure  of  the  occasion,  he  gave 
the  formal  address  which  had  been  assigned  him  on, 
'Recollections  of  the  Early  Bench  and  Bar  of  Crawford 
County,'  which  follows  below,  and  will  be  read  with  in- 
terest by  all  who  care  to  look  into  the  past. '  * 

MY    RESPONSE 
Members  of  the  County  Bar: 

This  banquet  tendered  by  you  is  extremely  gratify- 
ing to  me.  It  tells  me  that  though  I  am  on  the  retired  list, 
I  am  not  forgotten.  It  tells  me  that  you  who  have  long 
and  intimately  known  me,  have  kind  memories  of  our 
past  association  together,  and  that  our  present  relations 
are  cordial  and  friendly.  It  strengthens  my  own  love 
for  the  profession  to  which  I  have  given  the  greater  part 
of  my  life,  and  for  my  associates  in  that  profession.  I 
thank  you  for  the  pleasure  of  this  hour,  and  assure  you 
that  I  shall  bear  away  a  pleasant  memory  of  the  Craw- 
ford County  bar,  and  of  its  very  kindness  to  me. 

You  have  indicated  your  desire  that  for  a  few  min- 
utes I  should  give  you  my  recollections  of  the  early  Bench 
and  Bar  of  Crawford  county.  The  judicial  history  of  the 
county  began  with  the  territorial  courts  held  by  Judge 


32  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

Thomas  Towles  from  1815  to  1818.  Nothing  is  now 
known  of  Judge  Towles  beyond  the  few  brief  records 
that  he  signed.  In  1818  Illinois  became  a  state  and 
.Judge  Thomas  C.  Browne  held  the  courts  until  1824.  By 
a  change  of  the  circuits  Judge  Browne  was  removed  from 
Crawford  county,  but  remained  on  the  circuit  bench,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  Judge  Caton  writes  of  him  that  if 
he  ever  read  a  law  book  it  was  so  long  ago  that  lie  had 
entirely  forgotten  it.  He  is  credited  with  one  written 
opinion,  and  Judge  Breese  claimed  to  have  written  that 
one.  Judge  Browne  was  succeeded  by  William  Wilson 
of  White  county.  In  1825  James  Wattles  became  judge, 
and  was  legislated  out  of  office  in  1827.  I  have  been  un- 
able to  learn  anything  about  him  outside  of  the  few  re- 
cords that  he  signed. 

William  Wilson  succeeded  Judge  Wattles  and  held 
the  courts  until  1835,  when  Justin  Harlan  of  Clark  county 
became  judge  and  held  the  courts  until  1841,  when  Judge 
Wilson  returned  to  the  bench  and  held  the  courts  until 
1849,  when  he  was  again  succeeded  by  Judge  Harlan,  who 
held  the  courts  until  1859,  when  Alfred  Kitchell  of  Rich- 
land  county  was  elected  and  held  the  courts  until  1861, 
when  James  C.  Allen  of  Crawford  county  was  elected. 
In  1862  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and  resigned  the 
judgeship. 

The  vacancy  was  filled  by  the  election  of  Aaron  Shaw 
of  Richland  county.  In  1865  Hiram  B.  Decius  of  Cumber- 
land county  was  elected  judge  and  continued  until  1873, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  James  C.  Allen.  The  judi- 
cial system  and  the  circuits  were  so  changed  as  to  place 
three  judges  in  each  circuit,  and  John  H.  Halley  of  Jas- 
per county  was  elected  as  third  judge  in  this  circuit. 

The  judges  that  I  have  named  have  all  closed  the 
record  of  their  lives,  and  passed  over  to  the  Bar  and 
Bench  beyond  the  clouds  of  time. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  33 

My  recollection  of  Judge  Harlan  began  in  the  old 
court  house,  A  trial  was  progressing  and  the  Judge 
was  busily  whittling  hooks,  links  and  swivels  out  of  a 
pine  board.  A  casual  observer  might  well  have  doubted 
whether  he  was  giving  the  trial  much  attention.  When 
the  evidence  was  all  in  and  the  arguments  to  the  jury 
concluded,  he  summed  up  the  evidence,  gave  the  name 
of  each  witness  and  the  substance  of  his  testimony.  If 
he  had  doubt  as  to  the  credibility  of  any  witness  he  found 
a  way  to  convey  his  doubt  to  the  jury.  His  oral  instruc- 
tions were  in  effect  a  direction  to  the  jury  as  to  what  ver- 
dict they  should  find.  He  was  fond  of  the  chase,  a  good 
teller  of  stories,  and  a  just  judge. 

Judge  Kitchell  was  a  scholarly  man  and  a  good  law- 
yer. His  manner  was  quiet  and  unpretentious.  He  was 
a  gentleman  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  I  made 
his  acquaintance  long  before  he  came  to  the  bench,  and 
our  friendship  continued  during  his  life. 

I  first  saw  Judge  Allen  when  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  state  legislature.  He  was  making  a  speech  in 
favor  of  making  the  Embarras  river  navigable  by  means 
of  locks  and  dams.  This  fancy  picture  which  he  held 
up  before  his  audience  has  never  materialized.  As  a 
member  of  the  legislature  he  led  the  battle  that  ended 
the  narrow  state  policy  that  denied  charters  to  rail- 
roads that  were  to  terminate  at  East  St.  Louis.  This 
gave  him  a  popularity  that  carried  him  to  Congress.  He 
was  too  much  in  politics  to  be  a  profound  lawyer.  As  a 
judge  his  common  sense  often  served  him  well  in  the 
absence  of  technical  legal  knowledge.  He  was  eloquent  in 
speech,  a  splendid  singer  of  hymns  and  songs,  and  an  in- 
teresting teller  of  good  stories.  He  was  always  a  wel- 
come guest  and  a  pleasing  companion. 

Judge  Shaw  was  a  happy  disappointment  to  me. 
As  a  man  he  blustered  and  was  free  in  the  use  of  profane 
language.  On  the  bench  he  was  polite  and  courteous 


34  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

to  all.  He  was  extremely  careful  in  making  the  final  de- 
cisions in  important  cases  and  questions.  He  was  care- 
ful to  preserve  the  dignity  of  the  office. 

When  I  became  a  member  of  the  Crawford  county 
bar,  the  other  members  were  Franklin  Robb,  James  C. 
Allen,  Augustus  C.  French,  James  H.  Steel,  William  H. 
Sterrett,  George  W.  Peck  and  James  P.  Barlow. 

Mr.  Eobb  then,  and  during  his  life-time  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  county  bar.  He  was  a  graduate  in  both  med- 
icine and  law.  He  was  a  good  man  and  a  good  lawyer. 
His  standard  of  professional  ethics  was  very  high,  and 
he  lived  up  to  his  standard.  He  was  so  careful  to  get 
everything  in  that  his  pleadings  were  often  open  to  the 
charge  of  being  prolix.  He  had  a  dry  wit  that  sparkled 
most  when  it  was  least  expected. 

William  H.  Sterrett  was  born  in  Canada  and  re- 
tained many  of  his  English  habits  and  mannerisms.  He 
had  good  natural  ability,  and  was  shrewd  and  tactful  in 
the  trial  of  cases.  His  practice  extended  over  more  than 
twenty-five  years,  yet  he  never  owned  a  law  book.  His 
health  failed  and  he  returned  to  Canada,  where  he  died. 

James  H.  Steel  had  a  large  experience  as  clerk  of 
the  courts  before  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law. 
He  investigated  every  case  and  question  thoroughly, 
and  was  inclined  to  doubt  everything  until  it  was  demon- 
strated. He  was  very  technical  in  practice.  He  assumed 
that  the  position  and  pleadings  of  his  adversary  were 
wrong,  and  assailed  them  all  along  the  line.  Amendments 
were  not  then  allowed  and  the  consequences  of  a  mistake 
in  pleading  were  often  serious.  Mr.  Steel  was  a  good 
counselor  in  all  practical  business  matters.  He  soon  re- 
tired on  account  of  failing  health,  and  died  several  years 
ago. 

When  I  came  to  Illinois,  Augustus  C.  French  was 
governor.  He  lived  on  his  Maplewood  farm,  south  of  Pal- 
estine. After  his  return  from  Springfield  he  did  not  ac- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  35 

tively  engage  in  practice,  and  I  never  had  an  opportun- 
ity to  estimate  his  ability  as  a  lawyer,  though  personally 
well  acquainted  with  him.  He  removed  to  Lebanon  and 
took  charge  of  the  law  department  of  McKendree  college. 
He  was  well  educated  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by 
those  who  knew  him  best. 

Mr.  Peck  was  a  young  man  who  had  recently  come 
from  Indiana.  He  was  a  good  practical  lawyer,  with 
prospects  of  a  succesful  career  before  him.  In  1861  he 
volunteered,  and  became  an  officer  in  the  21st  regiment 
of  Illinois  volunteers.  He  was  discharged  on  account  of 
failing  health,  and  returned  to  his  Indiana  home  and  died. 

Barlow  was  one  of  those  pestiferous  creatures  who 
lower  the  standard  of  the  profession  and  injure  its  rep- 
utation by  their  unprofessional  conduct.  A  Pettifogger. 

These  men  have  all  passed  away,  and  I  am  the  sole 
survivor  of  the  Crawford  county  bar  of  1860.  I  was  soon 
followed  by  some  strong  young  men  who  still  survive,  and 
have  been  my  associates  until  this  present  time. 

The  establishment  of  courts  in  this  state  and  the 
administration  of  law  were  migratory.  The  Supreme 
Court  migrated  from  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other. 
It  was  only  located  after  long  and  strenuous  effort.  The 
Circuit  Courts  were  made  traveling  concerns,  and  are 
still  wandering.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  coming  con- 
stitutional convention  will  act  wisely  and  locate  them. 
The  early  bar  traveled  with  the  judges,  and  the  business 
of  some  counties  was  principally  done  by  non-resident 
attorneys.  A  number  of  such  non-resident  attorneys  were 
regularly  in  attendance  in  this  county.  I  joined  this  com- 
pany of  traveling  lawyers,  and  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  had  a  profitable  practice  in  the  adjoining 
counties. 

These  old  ways  have  passed  and  are  forever  gone. 
I  do  not  mourn  because  they  are  gone,  and  I  would  not 
recall  them  if  I  could.  There  were  many  pleasant  pas- 


36  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

sages  in  these  old  ways.  There  were  also  many  hardships 
and  rough  passages  which  you  have  escaped. 

I  have  thrown  off  my  working  harness  and  voluntar- 
ily surrendered  to  you  the  labor  and  the  rewards  of  the 
legal  profession  in  Crawford  county,  and  you  have  as- 
sumed the  obligation  and  duty  of  maintaining  the  honor 
and  dignity  of  our  profession. 

The  pathway  of  the  lawyer  is  beset  with  temptation. 
It  is  both  weakness  and  folly  to  yield  to  such  tempta- 
tions. There  is  no  other  profession  or  calling  in  which 
uprightness  and  unswerving  integrity  are  better  busi- 
ness capital.  There  is  no  other  profession  or  calling  in 
which  falsehood,  deceit  and  dishonest  practices  more 
certainly  keep  one  away  from  the  front  rank  and  in  the 
end  drive  to  sure  failure. 

MY    POLITICS 

I  was  a  ready  made  republican  when  the  party  was 
organized  in  186f£*  I  made  the  first  republican  speech 
that  was  made  in  Crawford  county,  in  the  Quaker  church 
on  Quaker  Lane.  This  was  in  ISSG'Vhen  John  C.  Free- 
mont  was  the  republican  candidate  for  president.  In 
1860  I  was  very  actively  engaged  in  the  campaign  that 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  have 
acted  with  the  republican  party  and  voted  for  every  re- 
publican candidate  for  president  excepting  Taft.  The 
reactionary  course  pursued  by  President  Taft  and  cer- 
tain leaders  of  the  party  with  whom  he  affiliated  and 
their  failure  to  keep  the  promises  of  the  party  to  the  peo- 
ple had  alienated  the  progressive  element  of  the  party  to 
such  an  extent  that  his  re-election  was  an  evident  impossi- 
bility. His  nomination  was  forced  by  the  national  com- 
mittee against  the  known  wish  of  a  majority  of  the  party. 
I  voted  the  republican  county  and  state  tickets  that  had 
been  honestly  nominated  and  fairly  represented  the  par- 
ty, and  for  the  electors  of  the  progressive  party. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  37 

OFFICES      HELD 

The  only  judicial  office  I  ever  held  was  justice  of  the 
peace.  The  duties  of  the  office  were  always  interesting 
and  often  very  amusing.  The  same  questions  of  law,  and 
principles  of  justice  are  presented  and  passed  upon  by 
the  justice  of  the  peace  as  by  the  judges  in  the  higher 
courts.  I  was  reading  law  and  preparing  myself  to  be- 
come a  lawyer.  I  kept  this  purpose  constantly  in  mind. 
I  sought  all  the  information  that  I  could  obtain  in  re- 
gard to  legal  questions  arising  in  the  cases  that  I  tried 
and  thus  made  the  office  a  valuable  aid  in  my  progress  to- 
wards the  bar.  In  1861 1  was  appointed  Master  in  Chan- 
cery and  held  the  office  two  years.  I  was  a  member  of  the 
first  State  Board  of  Equalization  in  the  state.  In  this 
board  I  found  plenty  of  hard  work.  The  returns  of  as- 
sessments from  different  counties  were  so  diverse  and  so 
unequal  that  the  necessity  of  some  instrumentality  by 
which  assessments  and  the  burdens  of  taxation  could  be 
made  to  approximate  equality,  was  self-evident. 

In  1875  I  was  a  member  of  the  29th  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  state,  Hon.  Elijah  M.  Haines  was  the  speaker. 
The  balance  of  power  between  the  republicans  and  demo- 
crats was  held  by  a  small  faction  of  so-called  Independ- 
ents, who  combined  with  the  democrats  and  elected 
Haines  their  candidate,  speaker,  and  giving  the  other  of- 
fices to  the  democrats.  It  was  a  turbulent  noisy  session 
and  was  often  derisively  spoken  of  as  "Haines'  Circus." 
It  passed  but  few  laws,  and  none  that  was  really  bad.  I 
was  also  a  member  of  the  thirty-eighth,  thirty-ninth  and 
fortieth  General  Assemblies.  In  these  later  sessions  there 
was  more  partisan  politics,  more  bills  with  jobs  concealed 
under  plausible  phrases,  and  more  jobs  that  were  not  con- 
cealed. Some  that  met  opposition  and  defeat,  and  some 
that  survived.  If  the  advancement  of  special  interest  and 
the  promotion  of  selfish  schemes  could  be  eliminated,  and 
public  interest  alone  kept  in  view  as  the  sole  objects  of 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

legislation  the  duties  of  the  legislator  would  be  very  pleas- 
ant. As  a  Presidential  elector  I  vpted  for  Presidents  Gar- 
field  and  Harrison.  I  was  President  of  the  Electoral  Col- 
lege when  the  vote  of  Illinois  was  cast  for  President  Har- 
rison and  messenger  to  carry  the  returns  to  Washington. 

MX,    RELIGION: 

M^  paternal  and  maternal  grandparents  were  all 
Methodists  and  my  father  and 'mother  followed  in  their 
footsteps.  They  were  Methodists  and  observed  the  rules 
and  followed  the  practices  of  the  church.  They  attended 
the  prayer  meetings,  class  meetings  and  the  more  public 
worship  of  tlie  church.  Each  morning  a  passage  of  scrip- 
ture was  read  and  followed  by  prayer.  Each  evening  a 
hymn  was  sung  arid  a  prayer  made.  On  Saturday  prepar- 
ations were  made  for  a  day  of  rest  on  Sunday  when  no 
work  was  done  save  that  which  was  actually  necessary. 
No  business  matter  was  discussed  or  transacted.  Books  of 
a  purely  secular  character  were  laid  aside.  The  children 
were  given  religious  instruction.  Such  was  the  atmos- 
phere in  which  I  grew1  into  manhood.  I  do  riot  reiriember 
a  time  when  I  was  hot  seriously  inclined  to  be  religious. 
From  my  childhood  it  was  my  habit  to  repeat  a  prayer 
upon  retiring  at  night.  I  accepted  what  I  knew  of  the 
Christian  religion  with  unwavering  confidence,  and  tried 
to  live  in  conformity  with  its  precepts.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  I  felt  that  it  was  my  duty  to  join  the  church.  If 
my  dear  father  and  mother  and  the  pastor  of  the  church 
had  been  as  wise  as  they  were  pious  I  would  have  been 
saved  from  a  bitter  and  disappointing  experience.  They 
should  have  led  me  into  the  church  kindly  and  intelli- 
gently and  counseled  me  to  continue  in  the  way  in  which 
they  had  led  me  from  my  earliest  years  of  responsibility. 
Instead  of  this  I  was  told  that  I  must  mourn  over  my 
sins  and  feel  a  godly  sorrow  for  them.  I  was  not  con- 
scious of  having  ever  done  anything  to  feel  deeply  sorry 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  39 

for.  They  said  I  must  be  converted.  I  must  be  pardoned 
and  obtain  a  peace  that  my  innocent  childhood  had  never 
known.  I  sought  earnestly  for  the  sorrow  it  was  said 
I  must.  I  sought  to  find  and  drink  of  the  bitter  waters  of 
penitence.  I  went  to  the  mourners'  bench  often  and  be- 
sought God  to  give  me  that  which  I  had  not  found  else- 
where. In  private  prayer  and  the  public  congregations 
I  was  an  earnest  seeker  after  the  experience  that  I  was 
told  I  must  have  before  I  could  truthfully  call  my- 
self a  Christian.  If  I  was  not  already  a  Christian  and  en- 
titled to  membership  in  the  church,  Jesus,  it  seems  to  me, 
was  mistaken  when  he  folded  his  arms  tenderly  about  a 
child  and  said  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven"  and 
he  was  never  mistaken, 

I  joined  the  church  011  probation,  and  at  the  expir- 
ation of  six  months  was  received  into  full  membership. 
I  assented  to  and  said  I  believed  all  the  deep  mysteries 
condensed  in  what  is  called  the  Apostles  Creed,  when  I 
had  little  understanding  of  their  import.  A  misapplica- 
tion of  an  old  testament  scripture  and  a  fallacious  argu- 
ment led  me  to  believe  that  the  ancient  method  of  bap- 
tism was  by  sprinkling  or  pouring  water  on  the  candi- 
date and  I  accepted  baptism  in  that  way. 
While  it  is  my  belief  now  that  the  mode  of  baptism  is 
not  material  if  it  is  rightly  accepted  and  the  baptismal 
covenants  are  thereafter  kept,  the  evidence  is  over- 
whelming that  the  mode  practiced  by  the  early  Christian 
was  the  immersion  of  the  entire  body  in  water. 

In  our  Sunday  Schools  we  call  children  "Little 
Lambs  of  Jesus,"  and  if  they  die  we  believe  they  are  lov- 
ingly taken  to  the  mansions  above.  But  when  they  seek  to 
join  the  church  they  are  sent  to  a  "mourner's  bench" 
or  an  anxious  seat  to  shed  penitential  tears  over  sins  they 
had  never  committed.  Children  stand  at  the  feet  of 
Christ  and  it  is  the  duty  of  adult  Christians  to  instruct 
and  so  guide  them  that  they  will  not  wander  away  into 


40  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

paths  of  folly  and  sin  as  they  grow  into  manhood  and 
womanhood.  One  who  has  committed  gross  conscious 
sin  has  occasion  to  mourn  and  to  shed  bitter  penitential 
tears. 

In  the  year  1872, 1  was  a  delegate  from  the  Southern 
Illinois  Conference  to  the  General  Conference  that  met 
in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  This  was  the  first  general  con- 
ference to  which  laymen  were  admitted  as  delegates.  An 
investigation  of  the  business  methods  and  management 
of  "The  Book  Concern"  in  the  city  of  New  York  demon- 
strated the  wisdom  of  the  church  in  providing  for  the  ad- 
mission of  practical  business  men  into  that  high  tribunal 
of  the  church.  Irregularities  were  corrected  and  unbusi- 
nesslike methods  were  changed.  I  have  been,  and  I  am 
now  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  I  do 
not  claim  for  my  church  any  superiority  over  others.  I 
am  in  fellowship  with  all  accepted  Christianity  as  the 
true  religion  and  its  founder  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

I  am  a  member  of  Robinson  Lodge  Number  250  of 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  of  Chapter  Num- 
ber 225  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  I  am  proud  of  my  con- 
nection with  this  ancient  order  which  for  centuries  has 
been  a  builder  of  civilization  in  the  world. 

I  have  borne  my  part  in  the  development  of  Craw- 
ford county  since  I  became  one  of  its  citizens.  Then 
there  were  no  means  of  carrying  the  produce  of  the 
county  to  any  market  except  the  Wabash  river,  and  that 
led  only  toward  such  markets  as  could  be  found  in  the 
South.  The  uncertainty  of  river  navigation,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  reaching  the  river  over  the  unimproved  roads  of 
the  county  were  calling  imperatively  for  other  means  of 
transportation,  and  access  to  other  markets.  To  answer 
this  call  a  railroad  from  Vincennes,  Indiana,  to  Paris, 
Illinois,  was  projected  in  the  early  fifties.  Its  construc- 
tion was  undertaken  by  men  living  along  the  line  with 
the  hope  of  getting  it  in  such  condition  as  to  command 


41 


foreign  capital.  Much  work  was  done  along  the  line. 
But  foreign  capital  was  not  obtained  and  the  road  was 
not  built.  I  was  a  stockholder  and  director  in  this  com- 
pany and  lost  what  I  had  invested  in  it.  The  necessity  of 
a  road  down  the  Wabash  valley  was  so  evident  that  the 
project  was  never  wholly  abandoned.  Twenty  years  lat- 
er the  charter  of  the  Paris  &  Danville  Railroad  Company 
was  amended  so  as  to  authorize  an  extension  from  Paris 
to  a  point  at  or  near  Vincennes.  Mr.  A.  P.  Woodworth 
and  myself  interested  ourselves  in  this  extension.  We 
became  stockholders  and  directors  in  the  company  and 
made  ourselves  personally  liable  for  debts  incurred  in 
the  construction  of  the  road.  We  became  members  of 
the  construction  company  that  built  the  road  from  Paris 
to  Lawrenceville.  In  the  action  taken  by  Mr.  Woodworth 
and  myself  the  construction  of  the  road  by  the  way  of 
Robinson  was  secured.  A  negotiation  pending  for  cap- 
ital to  finish  and  equip  the  road  failed  by  reason  of  a 
financial  panic  that  prevailed  throughout  the  country. 
While  we  succeeded  in  building  the  road  we  lost  all  that 
we  then  owned  and  the  county  and  the  City  of  Robinson 
received  the'benefit  of  our  efforts  and  losses. 

Some  years  ago  I  became  a  volunteer  advocate  of  the 
construction  of  hard  roads  by  special  taxation.  I  wrote 
many  articles  for  the  county  papers  and  discussed  the 
matter  with  many  citizens.  I  prepared  the  first  petition 
for  hard  roads  that  was  presented  in  the  county  and  ob- 
tained an  election  in  accordance  with  the  prayers  of  the 
petition. 

I  shared  with  many  others  in  the  movement  that  re- 
sulted in  the  construction  of  the  present  court  house.  I 
have  always  favored  and  contributed  to  the  construction 
of  better  school  houses  and  churches.  More  than  fifty 
years  ago  I  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Crawford 
County  Agricultural  Society  and  was  its  secretary.  I 
maintained  my  interest  until  the  agricultural  features  of 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


its  annual  fairs  faded  out.  When  horse  races;  fakir 
shows,  gambling  devices  and  other  schemes  to  secure  the 
money  of  the  farmer  boy  became  its  dominant  character- 
istics my  interest  in  the  county  fair  abated. 

In  the  development  of  the  state  and  county,  and  in 
the  various  enterprises  named  I  make  no  special  claim 
for  myself  either  as  a  leader  or  otherwise.  I  only  claim  to 
have  been  a  co-laborer  with  many  other  citizens  of  the 
county  who  were  of  the  same  spirit  with  myself.  I  only 
claim  that,  as  a  citizen,  I  have  not  shirked  duty  or  lagged 
behind,  but  have  marched  in  the  front  rank  of  the  pro- 
gressive army  that  has  led  the  county  up  to  its  present 
high  state  of  improvement.  In  this  sketch. I  have  not  in- 
dulged in  the  discussion  of  principles  and  policies,  or  in 
the  expression  of  opinion  in  regard  to  them.  These1  .will 
find  better  expression  in  the  addresses  delivered  by  me 
on  special  occasions  during  my  active  life,  some  of  which 
are  published  in  this  book. 

I  am  now  eighty-five  years  of  age.  I  have  put-  off  the 
harness  of  labor  and  am  taking  the  rest  which  I  have  fair- 
ly earned.  The  record  of  my  active  business  life  is  closed. 
On  this  record  I  invoke  the  charitable  judgment  of  my 
fellow  citizens  who  shall  survive  me. 

ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  43 


PUBLIC    ADDRESSES 

YE  SHALL  KNOW  THEM  BY  THEIR  FRUITS 

MATTHEW  *l«  , 


**  The  new  law  fasteth  never, 

Of  \fheat-,  or  corn  of  tares; 
The  vine  is  known  by  its  clusters, 
The  tree  by  the  fruit  it  bears" 

The  law  of  creation  from  the  beginning  was,  and  still 
is,  that  u  Every  seed  shall  bring  forth  fruit  after  its 
kind."  Men  ever  reap  what  they  .sow.  When  man  was 
crowned  with  lordship  ' '  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,,  and  over  all  the 
earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  on  the 
earth,"  he  found  his  entire  dominion  under  this  law  of 
creation.  All  the  ages  that  have  passed  have  found  this 
law  to  be  universal  and  irrevocable.  Man  himself  from 
the  throne  of  his  power  and  dominion  over  meaner  things 
bows  to  the  authority  of  the  same  law,  and,  in  his  physi- 
cal, moral,  intellectual  and  spiritual  being,  reaps  what 
he  sows.  uFor  a  good  tree  bringeth  not  forth  corrupt 
fruit,  neither  doth  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
For  every  tree  is  known  by  its  own  fruit,  foi*  of  thorns 
men  do  not  gather  figs,  nor  of  a  bramble  bush  gather  they 
grapes.  A  good  man,  out  r  of  the  good  treasure  of  his 
heart,  bringeth  forth  that  which  is  good,  and  an  evil  man 
out  of  the  evil  treasure  of  his  heart  bringeth  forth  that 
which  is  evil.  For  o?  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh."  Paul  wrote  a  letter  to  his  Gallatian 
brethren  in  which  he  said j'"  Be  not  deceived.  God  is  not 
mocked,  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap.  For  lie  that  soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh 
reap  corruption,  but  he  that  soweth  to  the  spirit  shall  of 
the  spirit  reap  life  everlasting,"  and  to  his  brethren  at 


44  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

Rome  he  wrote  l  *  Tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul 
of  man  that  doeth  evil,  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the 
Gentile.  But  glory,  honor  and  peace  to  every  man  that 
worketh  good,  to  the  Jew  first  and  also  to  the  Gentile. 
For  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God. ' ' 

In  obedience  to  the  law  that  every  seed  brings  forth 
fruit  of  its  kind,  the  farmer  selects  the  best  of  his  corn 
for  seed.  He  takes  the  best  of  his  wheat  and  winnows  out 
defective  grains  and  all  seeds  other  than  wheat,  and  sows 
in  hope.  He  selects  the  best  of  evrything  for  his  planting. 
He  searches  his  own  and  foreign  land  for  the  best  and 
most  productive  varieties  of  everything  that  he  plants 
and  cultivates.  All  this,  and  much  more  he  does  on  ac- 
count of  his  faith  in  the  primal  laws  of  creation.  "Like 
produces  like  "  is  an  axiom  beyond  controversy  in  the  ex- 
perience of  the  human  race.  "Like  priest  like  people" 
has  long  since  passed  into  a  proverb  that  stands  unques- 
tioned in  the  religious  world. 

The  literary  character  of  a  people  is  molded  and  de- 
termined largely  by  the  system  of  schools  in  which  the 
people  are  educated.  The  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than 
the  fountain  from  which  it  springs,  and  education  cannot 
rise  above  the  school  in  which  it  is  given.  The  pupil  will 
model  after  the  teacher. 

I  am  not  saying  that  when  perfect  seed  is  planted,  all 
of  the  product  will  be  perfect,  but  only  that  the  species 
will  be  the  same,  and  the  tendency  towards  perfection  will 
be  greater  than  if  the  seed  planted  had  been  imperfect  in 
quality.  "lake  priest  like  people"  does  not  mean  that 
the  members  of  a  religious  congregation,  will  in  all  things 
copy  the  minister  and  do  just  as  he  does,  but  only  that  his 
character  will  be  impressed  upon  them,  and  they  will  be 
influenced  by  him  until  he  becomes  the  representative  of 
the  aggregate  faith  and  practice  of  the  congregation  to 
which  he  ministers. 

I  am  not  saying  that  every  pupil  in  a  school  will  be- 
come an  exact  copy  of  the  teacher  from  whom  he  receives 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  45 

instruction,  but  only  that  his  scholarship  will  be  of  the 
same  grade,  and  his  thoughts  on  many  subjects  will  be  in- 
clined in  the  same  direction. 

With  these  general  truths  universally  accepted,  and 
acted  upon  by  men  in  view,  I  turn  directly  to  the  subject 
and  lesson  of  the  present  hour.  For  more  than  a  year  past 
the  temperance  reformation  put  in  motion  by  Francis 
Murphy  has  been  sweeping  over  the  land  like  a  great  tid- 
al wave  of  cleansing  and  purification.  In  all  the  cities, 
villages  and  towns,  and  in  the  open  country,  this  gospel 
of  redemption  from  the  slavery  of  appetite  has  been 
preached  by  zealous  men  and  women.  The  people  have 
heard  it  gladly  and  embraced  it  with  an  alacrity  that 
has  astonished  even  the  old  cold  water  guard  of  the 
Washingtonian  reform  that  mustered  its  forces  in  the 
field  of  temperance  reform  many  years  ago.  This  Mur- 
phy movement  started  in  the  cry  of  a  despairing  man 
for  his  life  and  the  restoration  of  his  manhood,  and  char- 
acter, and  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  which  strong  drink 
had  robbed  him.  His  cry  found  its  most  ready  and  earn- 
est response  among  men  who  had  themselves  tasted  the 
bitter  pain  and  misery  of  protracted  intoxication.  Oth- 
ers of  all  classes  joined  in  and  pressed  the  reformation 
onward.  There  is  no  reason  why  all  should  not  join  this 
living  army  of  reformation  and  push  forward  its  con- 
quests until  the  legalized  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors 
shall  be  unknown,  and  until  the  Murphy  pledge  of  total 
abstinence  from  all  that  intoxicates  shall  become  a  liv- 
ing oracle  in  every  house  and  home,  and  the  victorious 
banners  of  temperance  shall  wave  wherever  the  sun 
shines  and  the  stars  give  their  light. 

But  no  cause  however  just  and  pure,  or  holy  it  may 
be  receives  the  support  of  all.  This  temperance  reforma- 
tion is  no  exception.  It  redeems  men  that  are  lost.  It 
rescues  weak  men  enslaved  by  debased  appetite.  It 
sends  the  sunshine  of  joy  into  thousands  of  homes.  Yet 
there  are  those  who  stand  aloof,  and  others  who  actively 
obstruct  and  openly  oppose.  The  most  effective  oppo- 


sition  comes  from  men  who  occupy  a  respectable  position 
in  society.  They  are  not  drunkards,  and  consider  them- 
selves in  no  danger  of  becoming  drunkards,  while  the 
cry  of  the  fallen  and  the  song  of  the  redeemed  are  car- 
ried on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  the  public  conscience 
is  awakened  and  troubled,  these  respectable  men  stand 
coldly  aloof.  They  listen  with  indifference  to  the  con- 
clusions of  reason.  They  make  no  response  to  the  wail  of 
broken  hearts  and  crushed  affections.  They  make  no- 
answer  to  the  tender  voice  of  charity  which  pleads  with 
them  to  join  with  this  army  of  reform,  and  help  turn 
back  the  tide  of  waste  and  ruin  which  has  so  long  swept 
through  the  world,  scourging  it  as  with  fire.  These  men, 
some  of  them  members  of  Christian  churches,  stand  on 
what  they  are  pleased  to  call  neutral  ground;  stand  as 
stumbling  blocks  at  the  very  gates  of  perdition.  All 
good  people  should  show  pity  for  these  respectable  ene- 
mies of  reformation  and  pray  for  them.  Pray  that  it  may 
not  require  a  wrecked  life  or  the  cry  of  a  perishing  soul 
to  call  them  to  duty,  and  to  safety.  I  appeal  to  this  class 
of  opposition  today.  I  invoke  to  aid  me  every  tongue 
and  voice  with  which  humanity  can  plead  with  the  er- 
ring. I  beg  of  such  men  to  answer  me,  if  they  can,  with 
one  single  reason  for  their  opposition  or  indifference. 
For  one  such  reason  I  will  answer  them  with  a  thousand. 
To  all  such  I  say  the  good  work  will  go  on  without  your 
but  for  the  sake  of  yourselves,  and  those  over  whom  you 
have  influence,  cease  your  opposition,  abandon  your  po- 
sition of  indifference.  Come  and  go  along  with  us,  and 
we  will  do  you  good,  and  many  shall  at  last  rise  up  and 
call  you  blessed. 

The  seed  of  time  of  this  reformation  is  now.  The 
harvest  shall  be  hereafter.  What  shall  the  harvest  be? 
Heed  the  lesson  of  Him  who  taught  from  the  open  book 
of  the  natural  world. 

1  'Behold  there  went  out  a  sower  to  sow,  and  it  came 
to  pass  as  he  sowed  some  fell  by  the  wayside  and  the 


TETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  47 

fowls  of  the  air  came  and  devoured  it  up.  And  some  fell 
on  stony  ground  where  it  had  not  much  earth,  and  im- 
mediately sprung  up  because  it  had  no  depth  of  earth. 
But  when  the  sun  was  up  it  was  scorched  and  because 
it  had  no  root  it  withered  away.  And  some  fell  among 
thorns  and  the  thorns  grew  up  and  choked  it,  and  it 
yielded  no  fruit.  And  other  fell  on  good  ground  and  did 
yield  fruit  that  sprang  up  and  increased  and  brought 
forth,  some  thirty,  and  some  sixty,  and  some  a  hundred. 

And  these  are  they  by  the  wayside  where  the  word  is 
sown,  but  when  they  have  heard  Satan  commeth  immed- 
iately and  taketh  away  the  word  that  was  sown  in  their 
hearts.  And  these  are  they  likewise  which  are  sown 
on  stony  ground,  who,  when  they  have  heard  the  word, 
immediately  receive  it  with  gladness,  and  have  no  root 
in  themselves  and  so  endure  but  for  a  time.  Afterwards 
when  affliction  or  persecution  ariseth  for  the  word's 
sake,  immediately  they  are  offended.  And  these  are 
they  that  were  sown  among  thorns.  Such  as  hear  the 
word,  and  the  cares  of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness 
of  riches,  and  the  lust  of  other  things  entering  in,  choke 
the  word,  and  it  becometh  unfruitful.  And  these  are 
they  which  are  sown  on  good  ground,  such  as  hear  the 
word  and  receive  it  and  bring  forth  fruit,  some  thirty, 
some  sixty,  and  some  a  hundred. 

This  parable  is  a  life  picture  of  the  Murphy  temper- 
ance reformation  at  the  present  hour.  The  gospel  of  a 
sober  life  has  been  sown  broadcast  all  over  the  land. 
The  sowers  have  been  in  every  field  and  upon  every  high- 
way. The  precious  truths  they  have  scattered  have 
reached  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.  The  public 
conscience  has  been  aroused  and  quickened.  Thousands 
of  drinking  men  have  abandoned  their  cups  and  become 
sober  men.  Thousands  more  have  signed  the  pledge  not 
to  drink  and  proudly  wear  the  badge  of  total  abstinence 
from  the  use  of  all  intoxicants.  Now  that  the  seed  has 
been  widely  sown,  and  the  sowers  are  still  in  the  field, 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

the  question  again  recurs,  *  *  What  shall  the  harvest  be  f '  * 
That  question  is  not  answered  by  the  work  already  done. 
Much  depends  on  the  work  of  today,  and  of  the  future. 

The  farmer  who  should  prepare  his  field  for  the 
sowing  with  the  utmost  care,  and  in  the  most  approved 
manner,  and  sow  it  with  the  best  variety  and  quality  of 
seed,  and  then  give  it  no  further  care  until  the  harvest 
time,  would  be  called  improvident  and  foolish.  A  garden 
planned  and  planted  with  the  greatest  degree  of  careful- 
ness and  skill,  and  then  abandoned  would  produce  no 
fruit  to  satisfy  hunger,  or  flowers  to  gratify  taste  for  the 
beautiful.  It  would  become  a  barren,  weedy  and  unsight- 
ly waste.  If  the  field  or  the  garden  is  left  uninclosed 
and  unguarded,  it  will  be  overrun  by  animals;  if  un- 
cultivated, weeds  and  thorns  will  choke  out  every  useful 
plant.  Each  human  life  is  a  field  or  garden  which  de- 
pends largely  upon  its  individual  possessor  for  the  char- 
acter and  extent  of  the  culture  that  it  receives.  With 
the  parable  of  the  sower  in  mind,  each  one  should  take 
a  careflu  look  into  his,  or  her,  own  heart  as  a  field  or  gar- 
den demanding  personal  care,  supervision  and  culture. 
What  of  the  soil;  what  of  the  culture  already  given;  what 
of  the  present  fruitage,  and  of  the  harvest  in  prospect  f 
Are  our  hearts  like  the  beaten  wayside  in  which  the  good 
seed  finds  no  lodgement,  but  lies  wherever  it  may  chance 
to  fall,  exposed  to  destruction  by  the  foul  birds  that 
scavenger  the  highways?  If  so,  the  fault  lies  at  your 
own  door.  If  men  permit  sill  after  sin,  and  bad  habit 
upon  bad  habit  to  place  their  feet  upon  their  hearts  and 
consciences  until  hardness  of  heart  and  the  want  of  a 
living  conscience  takes  from  the  present  life  its  keenest 
relish  for  happiness,  and  from  the  future  life  all  the 
bright  hopes  which  make  the  contemplation  of  an  immor- 
tal life  glorious,  their  life,  to  them,  is  a  failure,  and  to 
the  community  in  which  they  live,  a  misfortune.  Sins 
and  evil  habits  trample  the  minds  and  consciences  of  men 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  49 

into  the  hardness  of  a  moral  wayside  and  makes  them  as 
dead  men  in  the  fields  of  moral  reformation.  To  make 
such  men  alive  to  good  works,  the  crusted  soil  of  their 
hearts  must  be  broken  up  and  mellowed  by  showers  of 
heavenly  grace  and  tears  of  human  sympathy  and  love, 
and  sown  with  the  seed  of  truth  and  purity.  This  sowing 
must  be  followed  with  a  lifetime  of  culture,  and  will  then 
be  remodeled  with  a  harvest  of  success  and  glory. 

Those  who  have  not  signed  the  pledge,  no  matter 
from  what  cause,  no  matter  with  what  arguments  lust 
or  appetite  has  answered  reason,  no  matter  with  what 
sophistry  conscience  has  been  silenced,  such  are  way- 
side hearers  over  whose  heads  are  hovering  all  birds  of 
evil  omen  waiting  and  watching  to  take  up  and  destroy 
every  seed  of  truth  and  righteousness  that  may  fall  near 
them. 

The  inquiry  should  be  carried  through  the  parable 
and  be  made  personal  to  every  one.  Are  you  a  stony 
ground  hearer  with  a  shallow  surface  of  soil,  in  which 
the  truths  of  this  wave  of  information  have  found  suff- 
ficient  lodgement  to  induce  you  to  sign  the  pledge?  Is 
the  period  of  your  emancipation  to  be  but  a  brief  one? 
Is  the  joy  of  your  friends  to  be  turned  into  mourning 
because  of  your  relapse  into  the  slavery  of  the  past?  I 
beseech  you  to  examine  yourself  with  great  care.  See 
how  deeply  rooted  is  your  resolution  to  remain  under  the 
obligation  you  have  taken,  for  your  whole  lifetime.  Test 
their  strength  and  know  whether  they  will  live  when 
touched  by  the  withering  breath  of  persecution.  Will 
it  bear  unmoved  the  ridicule  of  old  companions?  Will 
it  successfully  resist  the  force  of  evil  habits  so  long  in- 
dulged as  to  become  imbedded  into  your  life?  If  such 
questions  are  answered  by  doubts,  you  are  on  dangerous 
ground,  and  your  ultimate  safety  calls  for  a  daily  renewal 
of  your  pledge  to  abstain  from  all  that  intoxicates.  Pray 
earnestly  to  your  Father  in  Heaven  that  the  stony  soil 


50  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

of  your  heart  may  be  broken  up  more  deeply  by  faith  in 
Him,  warmed  into  new  life  by  hope,  and  made  perma- 
nently fruitful  by  that  broarl  charity  that  includes  all 
mankind  and  reaches  up  to  the  throne  of  the  universe. 

-  Or  does  your  mind  and  heart  represent  a  deep  and 
generous  soil  in  which  thorns  have  grown  up?  The  good 
seed  of  the  sower  sinks  readily  into  the  bosom  and  starts 
a  healthy  growth.  But  the  thorns  grow  faster  and  broad- 
er and  higher  and  choke  out  the  plants  that  grew  from  the 
seed  of  truth  and  righteousness.  These  moral  thorns 
which  spring  up  and  grow  in  the  fields  of  human  life 
and  conduct,  are  the  deceitful  illusions  which  allure  men 
into  crooked  ways,  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  and  following 
the  lusts  of  other  things  which  drown  the  souls  of  men 
in  sensuality  and  sin.  You  have  signed  the  pledge,  but 
retain  a1  lingering  doubt  as  to  how  its  obligations  shall 
bind  you.  You  dimly  contemplate  a  time  or  an  occassion 
when  it  may  be  openly  disregarded,  or  secretly  violated. 
You  may  have  a  thought  that  you  may  stand  safely  on  the 
borderland,  between  sobriety  and  intoxication;  that  you 
may  safely  enter  into  temptation  by  visiting  brothel 
halls,  pool  rooms,  gaming  tables,  or  saloons,  where  in- 
toxicating liquors  are  openly  or  secretly  sold  and  drank, 
If  thought  of  this  character  enter  your  mind  and  find  any 
lodgment  in  your  breast,  take  hasty  alarm  for  your  safe- 
ty. They  are  thorns  of  sin,  danger  and  ruin.  You  must 
dig  them  out,  root  and  branch  or  they  will  choke  out  of 
your  life  temperance  and  all  the  plants  of  virtue  that 
adorn  and  beautify  character,  and  in  the  years  of  your 
after  life  the  remembrance  of  your  broken  pledge  and 
the  consequences  which  followed  will  add  thorns  of  tor- 
ture to  the  bitterness  of  your  regret.  You  must  banish 
irresolution,  and  conclusively  determine  that  no  tempta- 
tion, no  burden  of  care,  no  pleasure,  no  evil  habit,  nor 
any  other  person  or  they  shall  ever  induce  you  to  use  any 
intoxicating  liquor  as  a  beverage,  and  that  your  voice, 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  51 

your  vote  and  your  influence  shall  always  be  against  the 
traffic  in  ardent  spirits  in  every  form.  In  this  battle  you 
must  "stand  fast,  be  strong  and  quit  you  like  men." 

The  last  class  of  hearers  mentioned  in  the  parable  are 
those  represented  by  good  ground.  Such  as  hear  the 
word  and  receive  it  and  bring  forth  fruit,  some  thirty, 
some  sixty,  and  some  a  hundred  fold. 

Who  can  lay  his  hand  upon  his  own  heart  and  say 
this  is  good  ground  and  the  harvest  shall  be,  thirty,  sixty 
or  an  hundred  fold!  All  must  feel  that  their  assurance 
is  not  perfect.  Culture  and  care  must  continue '  until 
the  harvest  time  comes.  Until  then,  the  duty  is  to  watch, 
work  and  wait. 

Friends  of  the  cause,  let  us  have  courage,  and  wills 
to  dare  and  do.  Let  us  examine  into  our  own  mental 
and  moral  condition.  If  we  shall  find  that  we  are  wrong 
let  us  be  willing  to  get  right.  If  the  soils  of  our  hearts 
has  been  beaten  into  wayside  hardness  by  evil  habits, 
let  us  have  it  broken  up,  and  mellowed,  until  seeds  of 
virtue,  knowledge  and  temperance  and  brotherly  love 
can  lodge  and  grow  and  bloom  and  bear  fruit.  If  it  is 
stony,  bring  it  by  faith  and  prayer  where  the  dews  of 
heavenly  grace  may  distil  upon  it.  In  this  atmosphere 
the  good  seed  will  grow,  and  its  root  strike  so  deep,  and 
find  such  nourishment  that  the  breath  of  persecution 
shall  not  wither  it. 

If,  upon  an  introspective  view,  we  shall  find  thorns 
shooting  up,  duty  commands  that  we  go  to  work  with 
honest  zeal  to  destroy  them. 

The  virtue  of  temperance  connot  live  alone.  There 
are  kindred  virtues  that  must  be  planted,  cultivated  and 
grow  by  its  side,  or  it  will  perish.  It  cannot  live  in  a 
viscious  atmosphere.  It  withers  as  if  in  the  mouth  of  a 
furnace  when  the  foul  breath  of  lust  is  breathed  upon  it. 

You  who  have  taken  the  pledge  of  abstinence  from 
the  use  of  intoxicants  as  a  beverage,  have  taken  one  grand 


52 


step  forward,  which  you  cannot  retrace  without  personal 
dishonor.  The  banner  of  reform  under  which  you  have 
enlisted  is  being  carried  forward  and  you  cannot  stand 
still.  You  must  move  forward  or  fall  out  of  line.  The 
forces  of  temperance  reform  and  those  of  the  legalized 
rum  traffic  are  mustering  to  the  great  battle  of  the  world. 
The  bugle  blasts  of  the  opposing  forces  are  ringing  in 
your  ears  and  calling  you  to  heroic  action. 

The  culture  of  the  mind  is  like  soil  culture  in  another 
respect.  It  must  be  systematic,  diligent  and  persistent. 
Addressing  some  young  Christians  whose  faith  seemed 
to  be 'better  taken  than  their  practice,  Saint  Peter  said  to 
them:  "Add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue  know- 
ledge, and  to  knowledge  temperance,  and  to  temperance 
patience,  and  to  patience  godliness,  and  to  godliness 
brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly  kindness  charity, 
for  if  these  things  be  upon  and  abound  they  make  you 
that  you  shall  be  neither  barren  or  unfruitful  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  he  that  lacketh 
these  things  is  blind  and  cannot  see  afar 'off,  and  hath 
forgotten  that  he  was  purged  of  his  old  sins.  Wherefore 
brethren  give  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  election 
sure,  for  if  you  do  these  things  you  shall  never  fall." 

Plant  a  single  grain  of  corn  alone,  let  the  soil  be  good, 
the  season  favorable  and  the  cultivation  perfect.  The 
stalk  will  grow  and  the  blades  will  wave  like  royal  ban- 
ners in  the  sun.  The  ear  will  shoot  up  with  its  silken 
crown  and  promise  full  corn  in  the  ear.  But  it  had  not 
the  fructifying  influences  of  association  and  contact  with 
other  corn,  and  at  gathering  time  it  will  be  found  substan- 
tially barren. 

The  farmer  cannot  safely  depend  on  the  cultivation 
of  a  single  cereal.  To  secure  the  proper  rewards  of  agri- 
culture he  must  resort  to  variety  of  crops,  and  to  avoid 
the  exhaustion  of  the  fertility  of  his  soil  he  must  often 
change  the  crops  grown  in  the  same  fields.  Singleness 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  53 

and  monotony  are  imcornpatible  with  utility  or  beauty. 
So  with  character.  No  single  vice  can  live  and  flourish 
alone.  It  will  have  its  brood  of  kindred  vices  or  it  will 
perish.  The  same  is  true  of  the  virtues  which  adorn 
character  and  dignify  humanity. 

Many  of  you  now  stand  where  Peter's  brethren  stood. 
A  good  beginning  has  been  made.  You  have  taken  a 
pledge  to  live  sober  lives.  You  have  laid  a  good  founda- 
tion. Growth  must  follow.  Let  faith  in  all  that  ir  right 
and  good  and  pure  possess  your  souls.  Acquire  know- 
ledge and  patient  diligence.  The  temperate  use  of  food, 
with  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicants,  will  give 
strong  bodies,  clear  minds  and  quick  moral  perceptions. 
Cultivate  brotherly  kindness  and  charity,  "For  if  ye  do 
these  things  you  shall  never  fall. ' ' 

In  every  reformation  there  are  many  enthusiasts. 
They  dream  of  acquiring  wealth  without  labor.  Of  vic- 
tory without  battle.  They  look  to  see  earth's  mountain- 
tops  made  golden,  with  the  breaking  light  of  millenial 
glory.  They  seem  to  think  that  they  are  standing  at  the 
threshold  of  a  new  era  in  which  humanity  will  drift  heav- 
enward by  its  own  impulses.  These  enthusiasts  are  use- 
ful, but  impractical,  and  unsafe  guides. 

Some  of  you  have  caught  this  spirit  of  enthusiasm. 
You  have  thought  the  battle  was  over,  and  have  sent  your 
shout  of  victory  echoing  down  the  lines.  As  one  member 
of  the  grand  army  of  reform  I  rejoice  with  you  in  what 
has  been  achieved  and  echo  back  the  shout  of  triumph. 
But  I  look  forward  to  battles  yet  to  be  fought  and  to 
greater  victories  yet  to  be  won. 

As  Christians,  and  as  citizens  we  are  commanded  to 
occupy  this  land  and  hold  it  for  God  and  humanity.  This 
temperance  reform  is  one  wing  of  the  great  army  of  occu- 
pation, we  are  sentinels  on  duty  guarding  that  which  has 
already  been  won.  If  the  country  is  reconquered  by  King 
Whiskey  and  his  faithful  ally,  the  Emperor  Lager  Beer, 


54  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

it  will  be  because  we  sleep  at  our  posts.  If  we  are  all 
faithful,  vigilant  and  brave,  the  temperance  army  will 
continue  to  occupy  the  land  and  it  will  become  for  fruit- 
fulness  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  while  this  promise,  and 
this  hope  cheer  us  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  tempta- 
tions and  conflicts  be  ahead  of  all.  Temptations  will  come 
from  quarters  where  we  had  expected  support;  come  in 
disguises  calculated  to  deceive.  Many  will  fall  whom  we 
had  confidently  hoped  would  stand. 

Plato  wept  over  one  of  his  brightest  and  most  promis- 
ing students  when  he  took  to  drink,  and  driving  fast 
horses.  Jesus  chose  twelve  men  to  be  witnesses  of  his 
ministry  and  teaching,  and  after  they  had  followed  him 
and  suffered  privation  and  persecution  tiiree  years  then 
for  His  sake,  he  astonished  them  all  when  he  said,  *  *  Have 
I  not  chosen  you  twelve  and  one  of  you  hath  a  devil  f "  If 
one  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit  could  follow  the  paths  of 
self  denial  and  suffering  over  which  Jesus  passed,  and  lis- 
ten to  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded  from  his 
mouth,  and  still  be  evil,  there  is  no  place  of  sanctity  and 
safety  where  such  evil  men,  and  evil  spirits  may  not  be 
present,  to  tempt,  mislead  and  destroy.  They  assail  men 
at  their  weakest  points,  and  most  unguarded  moments. 
They  come  in  every  shape  that  can  divest  the  tempter  of 
his  repulsive  features.  Music  and  beauty  lend  their 
charms  to  the  wine  cup  when  grosser  assaults  have  failed. 
They  charm  until  the  tempted  one  believes  that  if 

"He  kiss  but  its  crystal  mystic  rim 

Each  shadow  rends  its  flowery  chain, 
Springs  in  a  babble  from  its  brim 

And  walks  the  chambers  of  the  brain. 
Poor  beauty;  time  and  fortune's  wrong 

No  form  ar  feature  may  withstand; 
Thy  wrecks  are  scattered  all  along 

Like  emptied  sea  shells  on  the  sands." 

You  may  still  find  lingering  among  men  a  few  sur- 
vivors of  a  generation  that  has  almost  passed  away. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  55 

Their  religion  and  their  politics  have  borne  a  slight  odor 
of  strong  drink.  They  have  maintained  a  respectability, 
which  with  the  dignity  of  old  age  gives  them  an  influence 
over  young  men.  They  talk  of  the  sacredness  of  liberty, 
but  claim  that  to  restrain  the  appetite  for  intoxicants  by 
formal  pledges  or  fixed  rules  of  conduct  is  a  violation  of 
liberty.  They  have  many  good  qualities  for  which  they 
are  held  in  esteem.  But  their  example  and  influence  on 
the  subject  of  intoxicating  liquors  upon  their  associates 
are  bad,  and  should  be  firmly  resisted  and  opposed.  An- 
other class  of  tempters  consist  of  men  who  live  soberly  at 
home,  but  habitually  travel  with  a  "pocket  companion." 
You  start  with  one  of  this  class  on  a  journey  to  a  neigh- 
boring town  in  a  buggy.  We  all  know  the  feeling  of 
companionship  that  springs  up  between  men  thus  situ- 
ated. Whether  the  weather  be  hot  or  cold,  wet  or  dry, 
it  becomes  the  occasion  for  his  solicitation  that  you  share 
with  him  the  contents  of  his  "Pocket  Companion."  The 
moment  is  one  of  danger  to  you.  Remember  your  pledge 
and  your  plighted  honor.  The  tempter  beside  you,  with 
the  allurements  of  friendship,  and  the  attractions  of  pres- 
ent companionship,  must  be  stoutly  resisted,  or  he  may 
turn  your  feet  into  paths  which  lead  down  to  destruction. 
Look  upward  for  the  help  of  an  arm  that  is  able  to  rescue 
and  save  you. 

You  will,  on  occasions,  be  thrown  into  convivial 
groups  where  men  of  culture  under  the  flush  and  excite- 
ment of  wine  will  cry. 

"Come  fill  a  fresh  bumper  for  why  should  we  go 
While  the  nectar  still  reddens  our  cups  ts  they  flow. 
Pour  out  the  rich  juices  still  bright  with  the  sun. 
Till  o'er  the  brimmed  crystal  the  rubies  shall  run." 

When  temptation  comes  to  you  in  this  form,  remem- 
ber the  counsel  of  the  wise  man  who  drank  of  every  cup 
of  pleasure  and  at  the  end  of  his  bitter  experience  said: 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

4 '  Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red  r  when  it 
giveth  its  color  in  the  cup;  when  it  moveth  itself  aright^ 
for  at  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like  an 
adder. ' ' 

You  will,  in  your  intercourse  with  business  men 
find  lawyers  and  judges  whose  position  gives  them  in- 
fluence and  power,  whose  theories  and  practices  are  ex- 
amples of  evil  on  the  temperance  question.  Go  not  after 
them,  for  they  lead  many  into  poverty,  crime,  disgrace 
and  death. 

Science  is  also  prostituted  to  the  making  of  drunk- 
ards. Physicians  who  well  understand  the  pernicious 
influence  of  intoxicating  liquors  on  the  human  system 
continue  to  prescribe  whiskey  to  patients  whose  appetite 
craves  it.  In  almost  every  village  you  will  find  one  foe 
of  humanity,  masquerading  under  the  title  of  a  Doctor 
who  sells  his  prescriptions  to  patients  who  are  not  sick, 
but  only  thirsty.  Against  such  the  battle  should  be 
unto  the  death. 

The  worst  enemy  of  the  reformation,  and  the  one 
from  which  all  the  others  gather  their  inspiration,  is  the 
legalized  "dram  shop."  It  is  the  ugly, repulsive  and  dead- 
ly demon  of  our  civilization.  There  is  no  vlaid  reason  or 
excuse  for  its  existence.  It  confers  no  benefits,  creates 
no  wealth.  It  sends  out  no  ray  of  happiness.  It  mocks 
men  with  a  feeling  of  strength  they  do  not  possess.  Mor- 
ally, all  its  influences  are  evil.  It  takes  life,  overthrows 
reason,  ruins  character,  kills  moral  sentiment,  fills 
prisons,  poor  houses,  insane  asylums  and  grave  yards. 
It  is  an  excresense  upon  the  civilization  and  jurisprud- 
ence of  our  age  and  country.  The  plain  duty  of  the 
present  generation  is  to  blot  out  the  laws  which  permit 
its  existence. 

In  conclusion  the  question  again  recurs,  What  shall 
the  harvest  be?  It  will  be  thousands  of  men  redeemed 
and  saved,  and  thousands  more  started  in  the  right  way, 


5? 


who  will  go  through  life  sober,  free  men,  a  large  increase 
in  human  happiness,  and  a  permanent  elevation  of  public 
opinion  and  sentiment  on  this  question,  that  will  find 
expression  in  better  laws. 

Some  who  have  enlisted  in  this  army  will  fall,  and 
some  will  betray.  This  is  a  painful  fact,  but  does  not 
justify  discouragement.  There  are  stragglers  in  every 
army.  Spies  in  every  camp,  and  cowards  in  every  battle. 
But  where  the  brave  and  the  true  predominate  and  com- 
mand, the  omens  are  always  for  victory.  So  let  us  be 
with  this  temperance  army.  Let  each  be  faithful,  brave 
and  true,  and  feel  "as  if  it  were  he,  on  whose  sole  arm 
hung  victory." 

While  we  keep  the  battle  front  in  solid  array,  let  us 
do  what  we  may  to  win  back  the  stragglers  to  loyalty 
and  duty,  infuse  courage  into  the  hearts  of  the  timid, 
convert  the  spies  into  true  men  and  then  go  on  to  fur- 
ther conquests  for  that  which  is  pure  and  of  good  report. 


SKETCH  BY  RALPH  WILKIN 

LIBRARIAN  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT 
Under  Date  of  September  IS,  1907 

One  afternoon  some  time  ago,  in  the  Supreme  Court 
Library,  I  was  talking  with  Judge  James  Creighton.  He 
was  in  something  of  a  reminiscent  mood  and  was  relating 
anecdotes  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  Southern  Illinois,  and 
telling  some  of  his  experiences  in  traveling  the  circuit 
in  that  part  of  the  State. 

I  asked  him  if  he  was  personally  acquainted  with 
Hon.  E. .  Callahan  of  Crawford.    He  said,  ' '  Yes,  I  know 
Judge  Callahan  very  welly  and  I  recollect  very  distinctly 
the  circumstances  under  which  I  first  met  him.    It  was 
at  the  Clay  Circuit  Court  and  but  a  few  months  after  I 
Was  admitted  to  practice,  it  was  my  first  term.    Judge 
Cailby  of  Richland  was  the  presiding  judge,  Governor 
Tanner  was  then  clerk  of  the  court  and  Judge  Hoff,  just 
admitted  to  the  Bar  was  acting-  states'  attorney,  I  think 
by  appointment,  but  it  may  have  been  he  was  elected  to 
that  position. 

II  There  were  many  non-resident  lawyers  in  attend- 
ance, and  but  one  hotel  in  the  town.  We  all  put  up  at  that 
hotel,  more  from  necessity  than  choice  doubtless,  but  so 
it  was.     This  hotel  was  a  long,  low  ceiling,  ram  shackling 
old  frame  building,  broad  side  to  the  street.     There  were 
three  rooms  on  the  lower  floor;  one  the  middle  room, 
served  for  the  office,  sitting  room  and  lobby;  one  for  a 
dining  room  and  one  was  by  courtesy  called  a  parlor. 
The  three  rooms  stood  in  a  row,  connected  by  partition 
doors  and  each  had  its  own  separate  door,  opening  onto 
the  street. 


ETHEIBEKT  CALLAHAN  59 

' '  After  supper  of  the  first  day  of  the  term  and  my  first 
day  in  the  town,  I  spent  the  time  till  about  eleven  o  'clock 
&t  night  in  the  office  of  the  new  states'  attorney,  at  the 
court  house.  Upon  my  return  to  the  hotel  I  found  the 
judge  and  clerk  of  the  Court,  a  number  of  resident  law- 
yers and  what  I  then  supposed  to  be  all  the  non-resident 
lawyers  congregated  in  the  middle  room.  The  judge 
was  lying  on  a  couch  and  the  others  were  sitting  and 
standing  around  a  long  table.  On  this  table  was  a  two 
gallon  jug  that  had  been  full  of  whiskey,  a  pitcher  with 
some  water  in  it,  a  bowl  containing  a  little  brown  sugar> 
one  pewter  spoon,  one  glass  tumbler  and  two  tin  cups. 
The  room  was  lighted  by  a  coal  oil  lamp  hung  in  some 
way  against  the  wall.  Among  those  present  were  Ex- 
governor  L.  J.  S.  TuYney,  Ex-Senator  Hanna,  and  the 
since  Attorney  General  McCartney  of  Wayne,  the  then 
presiding  Judge  Canby,  and  Ex- Judge  Shaw  of  Eichland ; 
Ex-Judge  Decius  of  Cumberland,  William  B.  Cooper  of 
Effingham,  B.  J.  Eotan,  H.  H.  Chesley,  and  the  since 
Governor  Tanner  of  Clay.  They  constituted  a  jovial 
crowd.  Many  of  them  we?e  in  high  spirits. 

* '  When  I  entered  the  room  they  told  me  to  help  my- 
self, to  drink  hearty.  I  thanked  them  and  said  I  did  not 
care  to  drink.  One  of  them  asked  me  if  I  never  drank.  I 
replied  that  I  had  never  tasted  liquor.  He  said,  *  Gentle- 
men, here  is  a  young  man  trying  to  be  a  lawyer  who  says 
he  never  tasted  liquor,  I  say  no  man  can  be  a  successful 
lawyer  who  has  not  been  drunk  at  least  once.  I  appeal  to 
you,  Judge  Canby,  if  that  is  not  true.*  Judge  Canby 
replied,  '  I  do  not  know,  I  never  tried  it.  You  will  have 
to  call  another  witness.'  They  decided  by  a  large  ma- 
jority that  it  was  true,  that  then  was  my  opportunity  and 
that  I  had  to  drink,  filled  the  tumbler  to  the  brim  and 
seized  hold  of  me.  Just  at  that  moment  a  dignified  gen- 
tleman sober  as  a  judge  ought  to  be,  entered  the  doorway 
from  the  parlor  and  enquired  the  cause  of  the  uproar. 


60  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


It  was  explained  to  him  that  I  was  trying  to  be  a  lawyer 
and  had  never  been  drunk  and  that  they  were  going  to 
make  me  drink.  He  said,  '  Gentlemen,  that's  nonsense, 
that's  wrong.  I  am  forty  years  old,  never  took  a  drink 
of  liquor  in  my  life  and  am  as  good  a  lawyer  as  any  of 
you.'  Turning  to  me  he  said,  'Young  man,  you  don't 
have  to  drink  to  be  a  lawyer  and  don't  let  them  make 
you  drink.'  The  dignified  gentleman  that  came  to  my 
rescue  was  Judge  Callahan  of  Crawford.  We  have  been 
good  friends  from  that  day  to  this." 

RALPH  WILKIN. 


ETHE'LTBEST  CALLAHAN  61 


ADDRESS  AT  THE  COURT  HOUSE 

ROBINSON,  ILLINOIS.  APRIL,  1908 

For  fifty  seven  years  I  have  been  a  voter  in  the  State 
*of  Illinois.  I  have  voted  on  many  important  questions, 
but  in  my  judgment  none  more  important  than  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  on  Tuesday  of  this  week.  In  my  boyhood  I 
unlisted  in  the  Washingtonian  temperance  movement 
which  swept  over  the  country  like  some  great  tidal  wave, 
and  planted  the  Hag  of  reform  on  higher  ground  than  it 
liad  ever  Before  that  time  occupied. 

In  my  early  manhood  the  Sons  of  Temperance  mus- 
tered some  division  of  its  army  of  reform  in  almost  every 
city,  town  and  village  of  the  Nation.  It  was  an  organised 
force  that  held  the  field  of  moral  conflict  for  many  years, 
and  won  great  victories  for  the  cause  of  temperance. 

The  Murphy  pledge  followed,  and  the  arguments  of 
the  zealous  men  and  women  who  carried  this  pledge  into 
the  churches,  schools  and  homes  of  every  State  in  the 
Nation,  secured  another  advance  in  the  march  of  public 
opinion  on  the  temperance  question. 

The  Womans  Christian  Temperance  Union  has,  for 
years  now  past  been  like  the  leaven  in  the  meal.  It  has 
been,  and  is,  a  moral  force,  keeping  alive  the  spirit  and 
advantage  of  all  those  who  preceeded  it  in  this  particular 
field  of  reform. 

It  has  been  th'e  good  fortune  of  the  Anti  Saloon 
League  to  adopt  the  plan  and  organize  the  forces  that 
will  strike  the  key  note  of  a  great  victory  on  next  Tues- 
•  day.  Ignoring  partisanship  in  politics,  and  sectarian 
differences  in  religion,  it  has  brought  together  all  the 
churches,,  and  good  citizens  outside  of  the  churches,  and 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


concentrated  their  forces  in  an  earnest  crusade  against 
that  plague  spot  of  our  modern  civilization,  the  licensed 
saloon.  This  force  has  found  expression  in  a  law  that 
permits  the  people  of  any  city,  village  or  town  to  deter- 
mine the  question  for  themselves  whether  the  saloon  shall 
be  excluded  from  such  city,  village  or  town,  or  not.  The 
responsibility  of  determining  this  question  for  the  town 
of  Robinson  is  on  us  now,  and  our  answer  must  be  given 
at  the  ballot  box  day  after  tomorrow. 

It  is  right  and  proper  to  pray  for  success  in  this  great 
moral  battle.  Every  human  want  calls  for  a  prayer. 
But  let  us  be  careful  that  we  do  not  pray  for  that  which 
we  ought  to  do  ourselves.  We  do  this  sometimes.  We 
pray  that  God  may  guide  us  through  the  duties  of  life, 
and  tell  us  which  way  to  go.  We  forget  that  in  His 
word  he  has  charted  every  way  in  which  we  may  right- 
fully go.  The  way  of  duty  is  so  plainly  marked  that  the 
wayfaring  man  though  a  fool  need  not  err  therein.  The 
directions  are  written  so  large  and  clear  that  he  who 
runs  may  read. 

More  than  this,  danger  signals  have  been  placed  at 
the  entrance  of  every  forbidden  way.  Every  way  that 
leads  to  failure,  to  poverty  and  rags,  to  suffering,  to 
despair,  to  crime,  to  disgrace,  to  death.  Whosoever  en- 
ters upon  these  forbidden  ways  of  life  has  no  excuse 
that  he  had  not  been  warned.  In  the  quiet  of  his  home 
he  may  read  the  warning.  Over  the  door  of  the  saloon 
and  of  the  club  house,  before  he  enters  he  may  read,  at 
the  bar  where  he  drinks,  he  may  read,  if  he  will. 

Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging,  and  who- 
soever is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise. 

The  drunkard  and  the  glutton  shall  come  to  poverty, 
and  drowsiness  shall  clothe  a  man  in  rags. 

Who  hath  woe!  Who  hath  sorrow?  Who  hath 
contentions!  Who  hath  babbling?  Who  hath  wounds 
without  cause?  * 


EWfiLBERT  CALLAHAtf  63 

And  the  answer  is  given  plain  and  clear  "They  that 
tarry  long  at  the  wine.'* 

In  every  home  and  in  every  banquet  hall  the  pen  of 
inspiration  has  written, 

"Look  not  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it 
giveth  its  color  to  the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright; 
at  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like  an  adder* " 

With  the  guides  given  us  in  regard  to  the  right  ways 
Df  life,  that  lead  to  success  and  happiness  here  and  to 
eternal  life  hereafter,  and  the  danger  signals  set  against 
entering  the  forbidden  ways  that  lead  to  failure,  to  un- 
happiness,  in  this  present  life  and  to  a  future  that  is  dark 
and  hopeless,  we  are  left  very  much  to  our  own  choice 
and  cannot  escape  the  responsibility  of  choosing  that 
which  is  right  and  which  tends  to  our  own  good. 

We  are  called  upon,  to  use  the  powers  that  God  has 
£iven  Us.  Especially  is  this  true  in  a  contest  with  the 
forces  of  evil  like  that  in  which  we  are  now  engaged. 
Inaction  is  sin.  The  sin  of  a  soldier  who  skulks  while  the 
battle  is  on.  This  is  a  time  when  duty  cries  aloud  to 
>l  l  stand  fast,  be  strong  and  quit  you  like  men. ' ' 

The  war  cry  of  the  saloons  in  this  fight  is  "personal 
liberty."  Think  just  for  a  moment  what  this  means. 
The  devils  that  went  out  of  the  hogs  wanted  personal 
liberty.  Every  bad  man,  every  criminal,  every  outlaw 
is  clamoring  for  personal  liberty.  People  who  have 
thrown  off  the  restraints  of  the  moral  law,  also  seek  to 
Ibe  free  from  the  restraints  of  all  law.  The  saloon  men 
in  this  campaign  have  simply  inscribed  on  their  banners 
the  old  time  motto  and  universal  creed  of  the  criminal 
world,  "personal  liberty,"  which  to  them  means  freedom 
from  all  law* 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


AT  ROBINSON.  ILLINOIS,  1864 

Fellow  Citizen^: 

In  all  the  history  of  ihe  world  I  have  noi  failed  to* 
recognize  the  guiding  providence  of  Him  who  holds  the 
Nations  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  My  faith  in  that  same 
Providence  is  steadfast  today.  It  is  true  that  we  are 
tossed  to  and  fro  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  It  is  true  that 
we  are  scourged  with  a  desolating  war  which  drapes  the 
homes  of  the  nation  in  the  habiliments  of  mourning  and 
Woe.  It  is  true  that  calamities  follow  each  other  in  quick 
succession.  But  still  His  watchful  eye  is  over  us, 
Though  the  waves  dash  high  His  footsteps  are  upon  the 
waters,  and  ere  long  His  voice  will  be  heard  saying 
''peace,  be  still. "  The  night  of  toil  may  be  long,  dark  and 
weary.  Our  hearts  may  grow  faint,  but  the  harbor  lies 
just  ahead,  where  we  shall  find  rest,  and  where  the  white 
winged  angel  of  peace  shall  shower  upon  us  all  the  bles- 
sings that  dwell  in  her  beautiful  presence. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  have  correct  opinions  of 
the  nature  of  our  government:  that  we  should  understand 
how  it  was  framed,  and  the  necessities  out  of  which  it 
grew.  "What  were  the  grievances  it  was  designed  to  re- 
dress, and  the  ends  bad  in  view  by  its  framers.  All  the 
disasters  which  have  thus  far  befallen  us  have  arisen 
from  erroneous  opinions  on  these  subjects.  To  one  of 
these  errors,  which  is  as  old  as  the  constitution  itself, 
may  be  directly  traced  the  origion  of  the  present  rebel- 
lion. If  one  error  has  been  so  fruitful  of  evil,  how  impor- 
tant that  we  should  always  be  right  on  these  questions, 
and  in  order  to  be  right  we  should  study  with  the  most 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  65 

attentive  care  the  history  of  the  settlement  and  growth 
of  our  country,  and  especially  its  political  history  prior  to 
the  revolution.  We  should  acquaint  ourselves  with  the 
men  who  lived  in  our  revolutionary  era.  We  should 
learn  the  lessons  which  they  learned  and  adopt  the 
prrinciples  which  the  adopted.  We  must  not  only 
read  of  the  history  of  the  patriotic  men  who  fought 
the  battles  of  the  revolution,  and  whose  political  code 
of  principles  was  embodied  in  the  declaration  of  in- 
dependence, but  we  must  turn  to  the  darker  shades 
of  the  struggle,  and  study  the  more  repulsive,  but  no  less 
real,  character  of  that  party  which  opposed  the  war  and 
cried  for  peace  over  the  dead  bodies  of  their  slaughtered 
countrymen.  Wars  are  not  mere  contests  of  force  with- 
out ideas.  They  always  originate  in  ideas  tried  out 
by  the  terrible  demonstrations  of  the  battlefield.  No 
country  has  ever  gone  to  war  with  the  unanimous  consent 
of  its  people.  No  cause  however  holy  has  ever  enlisted 
the  ideas  of  a  whole  people  in  its  favor.  Our  Revolution 
was  no  exception  to  this  rule.  While  American  waters 
were  covered  with  hostile  fleets  and  the  whole  land  was 
bristling  with  bayonets,  designed  for  the  subjugation  of 
the  colonies,  there  were  men  who  made  peace  speeches. 
There  was  a  peace  party  that  opposed  every  measure  de- 
signed to  strengthen  the  colonies  in  their  resistance  to 
England.  This  party  denounced  Washington  as  a  man  of 
blood  whose  lust  for  power  was  filling  the  land  with  wid- 
ows and  orphans.  It  declaimed  bitterly  against  our 
Declaraction  of  Independence  as  a  measure  calculated  to 
divide  the  American  people,  exasperate  England,  and  pro- 
long the  war.  Eead  the  history  farther  and  learn  the  fate 
of  this  peace  party.  Where  are  the  names  and  memories  of 
the  men  of  '76  who  clamored  for  peace  while  patriots 
were  dying  on  the  battlefield.  Embalmed  as  tories  and 
traitors  history  holds  them  up  to  the  gaze  of  the  world  as 
objects  of  universal  execration.  Let  the  peace  party  of 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

today  gather  wisdom  from  the  past,  and  by  its  proper  ex- 
ercise avoid  a  place  in  the  future  history  of  this  country, 
even  more  infamous  than  that  accorded  to  their  ancestor, 
the  peace  party  of  the  Revolution. 

Go  with  me  a  little  until  we  can  read  together  a  few 
brief  chapters  of  our  earlier  history,  and  then  we  can  re- 
turn to  the  active,  solemn  and  awful  scenes  of  our  own 
times  which  have  not  yet  passed  into  history.  It  is  well 
to  know  the  past  that  we  may  better  understand  our  du- 
ties in  the  present  hour  of  our  country's  trial.  Will  you 
keep  this  object  steadily  in  view  excluding  every  other. 
What  is  my  duty  in  the  present  hour?  The  necessity  of 
civil  government  is  self  evident.  But  a  question  as  to 
what  is  the  measure  of  restraint  which  government 
should  throw  around  the  actions  of  the  citizen,  or  in 
what  manner  such  restraint  should  be  created  and  en- 
forced. In  early  times  when  there  were  but  few  families 
in  the  world,  fathers  gave  law  to  and  governed  their 
families  by  consent.  This  vras  csHed  Patriarcaird  govern- 
ment, and  answered  well  for  the  time  in  which  it  existed. 
But  men  became  more  numerous.  Larger  communities 
were  created  with  common  wants.  Common  wants  and 
common  necessities  and  common  interests,  created  the 
necessity  for  a  common  government  over  them.  This 
government  was  usually  committed  to  a  single  per- 
son, sometimes  chosen  by  the  people,  but  in  most 
cases  he  reached  his  position  of  authority  by  force 
of  arms,  and  executed  laws  as  his  sword  gave  him 
power.  This  form  of  government,  sometimes  abso- 
lute and  sometimes  limited,  still  exists  in  almost  every 
considerable  country  in  the  old  world.  We  call  it  des- 
potism. Fostered  and  courted  by  governments  like  this, 
and  linked  in  a  common  destiny  with  them,  the  church  be- 
came a  tyrant,  and  its  spiritual  government  was  charact- 
erized with  the  most  relentless  cruelty.  It  was  with  refu- 
gees from  this  political  despotism  and  spiritual  enslave- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN 


ment  of  the  old  world  governments,  that  our  country  was 
settled,  and  by  them  were  the  foundation  stones  of  the*  re- 
public laid.  They  were  adventurers  offering  life  for  lib- 
erty. They  had  well  defined  ideas  of  government,  and 
sought  on  the  bleak  coast  of  New  England  liberty  to  en- 
act by  their  own  free  voices  the  laws  by  which  they  were 
to  be  governed.  Liberty  to  worship  God  as  their  own 
consciences,  taught  of  His  word  and  spirit,  should  dictate. 

When  Patrick  Henry  said,  "give  me  liberty  or  give 
me  death",  he  but  re-echoed  the  watchword  that  was 
whispered  nightly  on  the  deck  of  the  Mayflower.  At 
first  these  American  settlements  were  neglected  and  over- 
looked or  made  subject  to  political  merchandise. 

Charters  were  granted  to  lords  and  noblemen  who 
came  over  with  the  most  extravagant  notions  of  dominion 
and  wealth  to  be.  acquired  in  the  new  world.  Royal  gov- 
ernors were  sent  over  with  high  notions  of  their  peroga- 
tive  power  to  govern.  Between  these  governors  and  the 
people  there  was  constant  controversy  over  such  ques- 
tions of  policy  as  affected  the  rights  of  the  citizen.  Acts 
of  parliament  were  passed  restraining  commerce  and 
destroying  manufactures  in  the  colonies.  Then  taxation 
without  representation.  Such  measures  were  inconsist- 
ent with  the  rights  and  liberties  which  the  Americans 
claimed  and  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  and  gave  ground  for 
serious  complaints  which  reached  the  ear  of  the  British 
Crown  and  people  in  the  shape  of  prayers,  petitions  and 
remonstrances,  which  were  answered  by  the  presence  in 
American  waters,  of  hostile  ships  of  war,  and  of  hostile 
troops  in  American  towns  and  cities. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  March,  1770,  Maverick,  Gray, 
Caldwell,  Atticks  and  Carr  were  shot  dead  in  the  streets 
of  Boston  by  British  soldiers.  In  April,  1775,  Major  Pit- 
cairn  destroyed  the  military  stores  of  the  Americans  at 
Concord,  and  fired  on  the  militia  at  Lexington  killing 
eight  and  wounding  many  more.  The  militia  rallied  and 


68  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

punished  the  soldiers  severely  during  their  retreat  to 
Boston.  This  first  battle  of  the  Revolution  aroused  all 
America,  and  in  a  few  days  Boston  was  besieged  by  twen- 
ty thousand  brave  men.  In  June  came  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  where  Warren  fell.  Washington  was  made 
commander  in  chief  and  commenced  the  organization  of 
the  army,  and  in  March  1776  compelled  the  evacuation 
of  Boston  by  the  British  army.  The  people  now  began  to 
grasp  the  idea  of  independence.  The  question  was  dis- 
cussed by  the  people.  The  patriots  were  for  independ- 
ence, and  the  peace  men  were  against  it.  The  patriots 
prevailed,  and  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1776,  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  was  adopted  by  the  continental 
congress.  The  people  and  the  army  ratified  the  action 
of  congress  and  maintained  the  declaration  through  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  the  war  that  followed.  Whether  in 
victory  or  in  defeat,  its  great  truths  were  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  patriot  soldier  who  toiled  and  suffered 
and  at  last  gave  his  life  that  the  blessing  of  liberty  might 
rest  on  the  land  where  his  children  should  dwell  when 
he  had  returned  to  his  final  rest  in  the  bosom  of  his  moth- 
er earth. 

On  the  nineteenth  day  of  October,  1781,  the  British 
army  surrendered  at  Yorktown.  Thus  ended  a  long  and 
arduous*  conflict  in  which  England  lost  a  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  and  a  hundred  millions  of  treasure  and  won 
nothing.  America  suffered  much,  endured  much  and  lost 
many  precious  lives  and  much  treasure,  but  delivered 
herself  from  foreign  dominion,  and  gained  an  honorable 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Turn  we  now  to  the  political  organization  of  the 
government.  If  we  thoroughly  understand  that,  the  dif- 
ficulties of  our  present  situation  will  be  greatly  dimin- 
ished. When  did  the  union  of  the  states  begin  to  exist, 
and  through  what  gradations  has  it  passtd  to  reach  its 
present  form.  This  union  existed  before  the  revolution 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  69 

in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  had  already  been  repre- 
sented in  several  continental  congresses.  The  articles  of 
confederation  then  did  not  create  the  Union,  but  were 
only  intended  to  modify  and  control  the  terms  of  its  fu- 
ture existence.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  present 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which,  in  the  name, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
declares  their  object  to  be,  not  to  create  a  new,  but  to 
form  a  more  perfect  union.  And  in  the  attesting  clause 
with  which  they  finish  their  work,  they  recite  that  the 
constitution  was  made  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  of  America.  The  great 
argument  running  through  the  articles  written  by  Madi- 
son, Hamilton,  and  Jay,  in  the  Federalist,  in  favor  of  the 
constitution,  was  the  necessity  of  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution, for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  No  one  of 
the  great  instruments  to  which  I  have  referred  pretends 
to  create  the  Union.  They  all  speak  of  it  as  already  ex- 
isting. From  what  period  then,  shall  its  origin  date. 
I  answer  that  this  union  grew  out  of  the  common  dangers 
to  which  the  colonists  were  exposed.  They  made  com- 
mon cause  against  the  Indians.  Their  isolation  from 
other  portions  of  the  world  gave  them  a  common 
name  and  destiny,  and  all  unconsciously  to  themselves 
the  bonds  of  union  grew  and  strengthened  until  all 
that  could  be  done  was  to  recognize  the  fact  and 
give  it  shape  and  authority  by  the  enactment  of  laws  and 
the  adoption  of  constitutional  restraints.  The  union  ex- 
isted while  we  were  only  colonies.  The  union  raised  the 
army  and  appointed  its  officers,  which  fought  the  war  of 
independence.  The  union  treated  for  the  assistance 
which  France  gave  us  in  that  war.  The  union  appointed 
the  commissioners  who  received  from  England  the 
acknowledgment  of  our  independence.  The  union  per- 
formed every  act  that  separated  America  from  England 
and  raised  the  colonies  from  mere  dependencies  to  the 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

dignity  of  a  sovereign  and  independent  nation.  It  is  to 
the  union  that  we  are  indebted  for  everything  that  has 
advanced  our  interests  as  a  people.  It  is  only  as  the 
United  States  that  we  are  kjiown  and  recognized,  re- 
spected and  feared.  It  is  under  the  flag  of  the  union  that 
our  commerce  has  traversed  the  high  seas  in  security, 
and  returned  to  our  own  cities  laden  with  the  wealth  of 
every  land  beneath  the  sun.  And  in  the  preservation  of 
that  union  rests  all  our  hopes  for  the  future.  Our  liber- 
ty, personal  and  national,  is  bound  up  in  the  union.  It 
is  our  only  ark  of  safety  and  peace.  If  we  surrender  that 
we  have  surrendered  all.  If  this  good  ship  of  state  is  al- 
lowed to  wreck  and  go  to  pieces,  some  of  us  may  ride  the 
billows  a  little  while  upon  its  drifting  fragments,  but 
sooner  or  later  all  will  be  swallowed  in  the  whirlpool  of 
anarchy,  or  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  and  shoals  of 
despotism.  We  must  realize  the  blessings  which  have  re- 
sulted to  us  and  to  the  world  from  the  union  before  we 
can  fully  appreciate  the  awful  consequences  of  its  de- 
struction. We  must  know  and  understand  who  are  the 
assailants  of  the  union,  and  the  coverts  from  beneath 
which  their  assaults  are  made,  before  we  are  fully  pre- 
pared for  its  defense.  It  avails  nothing  to  say  that  we 
love  the  union  if  we  stand  idly  by  while  its  enemies  are 
battering  it  with  cannon,  and  secret  foes  are  sapping  and 
mining  its  foundations  by  a  denial  of  the  elemental  prin-: 
ciples  on  which  its  foundations  rest. 

A  political  party  in  this  country  has  seemed  to  whol- 
ly misapprehend  the  nature  of  the  national  government, 
and  has  ever  denied  to  it  its  rightful  authority  and 
power.  Under  the  specious  pretext  of  "  state  sovereign- 
ity"  and  "federal  union"  this  party  has  labored  to  ex- 
alt state,  above  national  authority,  holding  that  the 
union  was  but  a  league  formed  by  consent  of  the  states 
and  from  which  a  state  might  withdraw. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  71 

In  1789  Virginia  and  Kentucky  passed  resolutions 
embodying  this  doctrine  and  setting  up  the  right  of  each 
state  to  judge  whether  its  rights  were  infracted  by  the 
action  of  the  general  government,  and  to  determine  for 
itself  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress  for  any  infraction 
which  in  its  judgment  might  be  made. 

When  southern  politicians  had  become  fixed  in  their 
purpose  to  secede  these  resolutions  were  called  into  life 
and  a  construction  given  to  them,  wThich,  if  adopted, 
would  waste  the  union  away  as  an  iceberg  would  waste 
beneath  a  tropical  sun.  What  more  could  a  secessionist 
want?  AVhat  more  could  Calhoun  or  Jefferson  Davis  de- 
sire than  to  be  told  that  they  were  to  be  the  judges  as  to 
when  their  rights  were  imperiled  by  the  action  of  the 
federal  government,  and  that  to  them,  and  to  them  alone 
belongs  the  right  to  determine  the  mode  and  measure  of 
redress  in  such  a  case.  How  clearly  it  opens  the  road  to 
secession  as  the  mode  of  redress.  It  was  along  this  road 
the  politicians  have  led  an  excited  and  alarmed,  but  pat- 
riotic, people  until  they  were  plunged  into  rebellion  and 
war.  But  for  this  political  heresy  there  would  have  been 
no  rebellion.  It  is  this  heresy  that  sustains  the  confed- 
eracy today  and  keeps  its  armies  in  the  field  and  pro- 
longs the  war.  It  is  this  principle  that  is  slaughtering 
our  countrymen,  and  it  is  high  time  that  men  who  have 
endorsed  it,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  should  open 
their  eyes  to  the  fearful  consequences  which  have  fol- 
lowed like  a  demon  in  the  footsteps  of  this  fatal  heresy. 
Armed  rebellion  can  be  crushed  out  and  driven  from  the 
land,  but  this  covert  secession  takes  refuge  behind  the 
bulwark  of  free  speech  and  disseminates  its  treasonable 
doctrines  right  under  the  flag  of  the  union  whose  life 
it  designs  to  steal  away.  Friends  of  the  union,  be  on 
your  guard,  the  battle  is  in  Illinois  as  well  as  in  Vir- 
ginia. While  Sheridan  and  his  brave  boys  are  raiding 
around  Richmond  and  cutting  the  highways  that  lead  to 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

that  den  of  treason  and  rebellion,  you  must  be  plugging 
the  snakeholes  of  treason  in  Illinois.  You  must  make  a 
war  of  extermination  against  every  principle  and  every 
policy  which  has  any  tendency  to  stimulate  or  encourage 
those  who  are  in  arms  against  the  government.  You 
must  not  surrender  the  state  or  national  government  into 
the  hands  of  men  who  would  withdraw  our  armies  and 
compromise  away  all  the  fruits  of  these  three  long  years 
of  sacrifice  and  toil.  I  do  not  address  these  words  to  you 
as  a  partisan  but  as  an  American  citizen  possessing  a 
common  interest  with  you  in  the  glories  of  the  American 
name,  and  in  the  .rich  treasures  of  American  history. 

This  then  is  the  great  question  with  every  one.  What 
is  my  present  duty,  and  what  measures  now  before  the 
country  shall  command  my  support.  The  question  is  a 
practical  one  which  all  must  answer.  We  cannot  avoid 
it  if  we  were  even  disposed  to  avoid  it.  We  are  com- 
pelled to  choose  between  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war  on  the  one  hand,  and  submission  to  the  doctrines, 
practice  and  results  of  secession  on  the  other.  I  de- 
sire to  state  the  issue  fairly.  I  wish  to  do  no  man  or 
party  injustice.  I  desire  to  be  guided  by  candor  and 
sound  reason  both  in  the  statement  and  argument  of  my 
propositions.  I  wish  to  look  facts  and  the  consequences 
growing  out  of  them  squarely  in  the  face.  I  do  not  desire 
to  evade  responsibility.  I  am  ready  here  and  elsewhere 
to  assume  my  full  share  of  it,  and  to  stand  or  fall  on  the 
merits  of  my  position.  With  this  responsibility  resting 
upon  me,  after  a  careful  survey  of  the  whole  field,  I  can 
see  but  two  issues  to  the  present  war;  but  two  lines  of 
policy  that  can  be  pursued;  but  two  roads  that  can  be 
taken.  One  is  the  immediate  cessation  of  hostilities,  and 
the  acceptance  of  peace  on  such  terms  as  can  now  be  ob- 
tained. The  other  is  the  prosecution  of  the  war  until  the 
National  authorities  can  dictate  the  terms  of  the  peace 
which  sooner  or  later  must  come.  The  adoption  of  the 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  73 

first  named  policy  would  be  an  unmanly  surrender  of  the 
union  and  the  constitution,  and  an  abondonment  of  the 
self  evident  truths  of  the  declaration  of  independence  as 
the  fundamental  principles  of  good  government.  It 
would  be  the  beginning  of  a  disintegration  that  would  go 
on  until  the  United  States  would  become  petty  provinces, 
the  easy  prey  of  anarchy  and  despotism.  It  is  vain  to 
talk  about  negotiation  for  the  restoration  of  the  union. 
All  talk  of  this  character  by  men  in  the  north  is  but  an- 
other name  for  surrender  and  submission.  It  holds  out 
hope  to  the  rebels  and  encourages  them  to  persevere  in 
their  struggle  for  independence.  They  hold  common 
sentiments  and  advocate  a  common  policy  with  the  north- 
ern peace  man.  They  know;  we  know;  and  the  world 
knows  that  if  they  succeed  it  will  not  be  by  their 
own  strength  and  prowess,  but  through  division  and  dis- 
sention  in  the  north. 

Are  we  then  prepared  to  adopt  this  policy?  Are  we 
not  the  most  recreant  criminals  if  we  do  adopt  it?  Will 
impartial  history  consign  the  advocates  of  this  policy  to 
an  eternity  of  infamy  and  shame  ?  Will  they  not  call  down 
bolts  of  cursing  rather  than  dews  of  blessing  to  rest  on 
their  name  and  memory  forever? 

They  will  invite  and  receive  the  everlasting  enmity 
and  hatred  of  the  soldier,  and  of  all  true  friends  of 
the  soldier.  The  oppressed  and  yoke-weary  masses  of 
the  old  world  who  have  had  hope  in  our  nation,  will  ex- 
ecrate them  forever  as  the  betrayers  of  liberty. 

If  then,  this  peace  party  is  so  fearfully  wrong,  what 
other  course  is  left  than  to  prosecute  the  war  and  sustain 
the  army  in  the  field.  I  know  of  none.  Many  are  opposed 
to  the  prosecution  of  the  war  under  the  present  policy 
They  say  they  want  it  carried  on  under  the  constitution 
without  disturbing  the  local  institutions  of  the  states. 
They  profess  to  be  alarmed  about  the  sovereignty  of  the 
states.  I  believe  in  the  right  of  the  states.  I  deny,  reject 


74  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

and  repudiate  the  doctrine  of  state  suicide  or  any  other 
manner  of  state  destruction.  But  I  have  no  fears  grow- 
ing out  of  the  invasion  of  a  state  wholly  under  the  con- 
trol of  rebels.  In  extending  protection  to  states  I  hold 
that  only  loyal  men  should  be  taken  into  account.  When 
armed  resistance  shall  cease  I  shall  rejoice  to  see  the  gov- 
ernment exercise  a  large  and  liberal  magnanimity  to  such 
of  the  people  who  have  been  in  rebellion  as  shall  merit 
it  by  good  behavior.  If  the  people  of  the  south  did  not 
want  to  have  their  local  institutions  disturbed  they 
should  not  have  disturbed  national  institutions.  If  they 
desired  that  their  state  rights  should  be  respected,  they 
should  have  respected  the  larger  rights  of  the  nation. 
If  they  desired  to  be  let  alone  they  should  have  let  the  un- 
ion alone.  They  should  have  let  its  money,  its  ships  and 
its  guns  alone.  They  begun  the  war  and  can  end  it.  But 
I  am  answered  that  to  stop  fighting 'now  and  submit  to 
the  national  authority  would  be  humiliating  to  the 
rebels.  Well,  frankly  it  would  be  humiliating.  It 
would  be  more  humiliating  for  a  proud  nation  to  kneel 
at  the  feet  of  an  iniquitous  rebellion  and  sue  for  a 
peace  which  yielded  up  national  existence.  In  every 
war  one  party  or  the  other  submits  to  humiliation  in  the 
end,  and  why  these  southern  rebels  should  be  excepted 
from  the  general  rule  I  can  see  no  reason.  They  have 
violated  the  laws  of  the  land,  torn  down  its  flag  and 
trampled  under  foot  its  constitution.  The  law  imposes 
punishment  on  all  who  commit  such  lawless  acts  and 
punishment  always  implies  humiliation.  Let  us  keep 
our  faith  in  the  government  of  our  fathers.  Let  us  still 
cling  to  the  truths  of  the  old  declaration  of  independence. 
Let  us  with  the  fathers  still  hold  them  to  be  self  evident. 
Let  us  in  our  hearts  and  in  our  lives  adopt  the  words  of 
Adams,  "Live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  this 
declaration."  Let  party  affiliations  divide  us  ever  so 
much;  let  storms  of  predjudice  and  passion  sweep  over 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  75 

us  ever  so  bitterly;  let  sectional  interests  alienate  us  as 
they  may;  no  matter  how  madly  fanaticism  may  rave; 
whatever  may  betide;  let  us  still  be  for  this  declaration, 
and  cling  to  it  as  the  rock  of  refuge  and  safety.  We  may 
differ  in  our  application  of  its  principles  to  the  political 
issues  of  the  day,  but  let  us  not  be  carried  away  from  the 
principles  themselves.  Let  us  continue  to  read  and  pro- 
claim them  on  each  return  of  this  national  anniversary 
until  they  shall  obtain  universal  application  throughout 
the  earth ;  until  the  sun  in  his  circuit  through  the  heavens 
s|all  look  down  upon  the  world  and  bear  witness  that  all 
people  of  every  land  and  nation,  of  every  kindred  and 
tohgue  are  rejoicing  in  the  sunlight  of  liberty  and  law. 

While  we  meet  to  commemorate  the  great  deeds  of 
our  revolutionary  ancestors;  while  memory  revisits  the 
battlefields  where  they  fought  and  fell;  shall  we  forget 
the  no  less  glorious  deeds  of  the  heroes  of  our  own  times  ? 
Let  the  names  of  the  soldiers  of  1776  and  1861  go  into 
history  and  down  to  posterity  together.  Let  the  story  of 
independence  be  interwoven  with  the  seige  and  surrender 
of  Vicksburg.  While  we  rejoice  in  the  triumphs  of  the 
revolution,  let  us  pray  earnestly  for  the  brave  men  who 
are  battling  against  treason  under  Sherman  in  Georgia, 
and  under  Grant  in  Virginia.  And  when  they  return  to  us, 
be  ready  to  reward  them  with  every  honor  a  greatful 
people  can  bestow.  Let  us  now  and  hereafter  stand  by 
the  army,  and  do  our  whole  duty  to  the  country  and  all 
will  be  well.  The  constitution  will  be  preserved  and  the 
union  restored.  The  gentle  dews  of  heaven  will  wash 
from  our  battlefields  the  red  stains  of  war,  and  the  nation 
renovated  by  fire  will  rise  to  a  new  life  of  glory,  honor, 
prosperity  and  power.  The  sacrifices  we  shall  have  made 
will  kififc  our  hearts  together  in  a  bond  of  closer  and 


76  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

dearer  love  for  the  union.  The  angel  with  the  olive 
branch  shall  hover  over  us  and  we  may  at  least  witness- 
the  dawn  of  that  bright  morning  of  millennial  glory  when 
God's  holy  angels  shall  proclaim  throughout  the  world, 
1 1  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men. ' ' 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  7.7 


IN  MEMORY  OF  ZADOK  A.  PEARCE 

DELIVERED  AT  OAK  GROVE  CEMETERY 
OCTOBER  23,  1891 

My  acquaintance  with  Zadok  A.  Pierce  began  late  in 
the  year  of  1851  when  he  was  a  young  man,  just  entering 
on  his  business  career.  The  life  of  his  manhood  was  then 
all  before  him.  The  hopes,  plans,  prospects  and  ambit- 
ions which  filled  his  heart  and  lured  him  onward,  and  in- 
to the  activities  and  business  of  life  were  then  unrealized 
and  unfulfilled.  He  was  unfit  for  a  life  of  ease,  tranquil- 
ity  or  indifference.  All  the  impulses,  passions  and  prin- 
ciples which  made  up  his  natural  character  were  such 
as  would  lead  him  into  an  active  life,  and  direct  his 
thoughts  towards  fields  of  manly  strife  and  combat. 
These  strong  passions  had  their  influence  upon  his  af- 
ter life,  and  at  one  time  led  him  into  paths  of  danger. 
I  dare  not  in  the  solemn  presence  of  my  dead  friend;  in 
the  presence  of  his  bereaved  wife  and  children;  in  the 
presence  of  his  neighbors  who  knew  his  incomings  and 
outgoings,  say  that  he  had  no  inclination  to  do  any  wrong, 
or  that  he  never  swerved  from  the  line  of  duty.  He,  him- 
self made  no  claim  to  freedom  from  the  infirmities  and 
weaknesses  of  human  nature.  He  felt  the  power  of  temp- 
tation, and  suffered  the  penalty  of  transgression.  He  al- 
so knew  the  joy  that  follows  a  great  moral  victory.  I 
know  better  than  any  one  outside  of  his  own  family  the 
history  of  the  bitter  conflict  with  his  own  appetites  and 
passions;  the  battle  unto  death  between  the  good  that 
sought  to  save  him,  and  the  evil  that  sought  to  destroy 
him.  I  know  also  the  splendid  victory  that  he  achieved 
over  appetite,  passion,  temper,  habit,  the  influence  of  false 
friends,  and  over  his  former  self.  You  all  know  how  well 


78  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

he  kept  and  exhibited  in  his  life  and  character,  the  fruits: 
of  that  victory. 

His  strong,  positive  personal  character  he  retained 
to  the  end.  His  opinions  on  all  questions  were  so  fixed, 
and  his  convictions  so  stoutly  maintained,  as  to  be  some- 
times mistaken  for  stubbornness.  Reverses  and  losses 
in  business  stimulated  him  to  adopt  new  plans,  and  to  put 
forth  more  persistent  efforts  to  carry  them  into  execution. 
A  tree  is  judged  by  its  fruit,and  a  man's  life  by  its  results. 
Our  friend  can  abide  this  judgement.  He  established  and 
maintained  a  prosperous  and  happy  home  for  his  family. 
He  educated  his  children  and  they  have  gone  out  from  the 
parental  home  into  homes  of  their  own  which,  in  charac- 
ter and  respectability  reflect  honor  upon  him  as  a  father. 
His  stirring  active  life,  and  his  struggle  for  the  right, 
are  worthy  of  consideration,  as  examples,  by  those  who 
follow  after  him. 

During  the  late  term  of  our  Circuit  Court  he  had 
some  business  in  the  hands  of  my  law  firm  which  he  in- 
sisted must  be  settled,  for  said  he,  I  shallnot  live  long. 
I  tried  to  call  his  mind  away  from  the  gloomy  thought. 
He  shook  his  head  ominously  and  refused  to  dismiss  the 
subject.  He  spoke  to  many  others  in  the  same  strain. 
Was  there  a  shadow  from  the  valley  of  death  thrown  over 
him  that  the  eyes  of  the  soul  alone  could  see?  Did  some 
voice  from  the  other  shore  speak  to  his  spirit  and  tell 
him  the  crossing  was  so  near?  But  it  is  vain  to  ask  such 
questions.  They  find  no  answer  here.  He  has  carried  the 
mystery  with  him  beyond  the  range  of  investigations. 

One  thing  we  do  know.  His  earthly  life  is  ended. 
We  shall  never  again  meet  or  greet  him  in  the  paths  of 
this  life.  His  physical  form  disappears  from  us  forever. 
From  this  day  henceforth  the  manner  of  man  that  he  was 
is  but  a  memory.  His  voice  shall  never  again  fall  upon 
our  ears.  His  place  is  vacant.  So  far  as  this  life  is  con- 


cerned,  we  speak  the  last  farewell.  The  last  goodbye  to- 
'day. 

But  is  this  all  of  life?  Does  death  end  all?  If  so, 
the  shadows  around  us  would  be  dark  indeed,  and  our 
sorrow  wonld  be  unilluminated  by  a  single  ray  of  light. 
This  is  not  all.  Our  Christian  faith  reveals  to  us,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  over  which  our  friend  has  just 
passed,  and  whither  we  must  soon  follow,  the  shores  of  a 
country  where  sorrow  never  conies  and  where  immor- 
tality is  the  law  of  life. 

What  its  scenes  of  beauty  are  we  know  not,  for  mor- 
tal eye  has  never  seen  them;  what  are  the  melodies  that 
float  upon  the  waves  of  its  celestial  atmosphere  we  cannot 
tell,  for  mortal  ear  has  never  heard  them.  What  are  the 
delightful  pursuits  of  the  dwellers  in  that  country,  and 
the  measure  of  their  joy,  we  know  not,  "for  it  has  never 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  them.  It  is 
enough  to  know  that  they  are  provided  by  our  Father, 
and  that  we  shall  be  satisfied  with  them. 

Faith  in  the  existence  of  this  immortal  country  is  the 
only  star  of  hope  to  the  dying.  It  was  this  faith  that  en- 
abled our  friend  to  say  to  his  loved  wife,  with  her  break- 
ing heart;  "it's  only  a  little  time — this  separation — you 
will  come  soon."  It  is  this  faith,  and  this  hope  that  ling- 
ers with  his  widow  and  children,  leading  them  through 
darkness  and  storm  towards  the  bright  land  where  the 
husband  and  father  has  already  gone.  It  is  in  the  light  of 
this  faith  that  I  came  here  as  the  friend  of  the  one  that 
is  gone,  and  of  those  who  survive,  and  speak  these  words 
of  friendship,  and  pay  this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  him 
who  was  so  long  my  friend. 


80  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


IN  MEMORY  OF  JUDGE  JOHN  SCHOLFIELD 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY  24.  1893 

In  the  House  on  the  24th  of  February,  1893,  resolu- 
tions in  respect  to  the  death  of  Judge  Scholfield  came  up 
as  a  special  order.  Remarks  in  eulogy  of  the  deceased 
were  made  by  Messrs.  Callahan  and  others,  and  the  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  by  a  rising  vote. 

In  speaking  of  the  resolutions  Mr.  Callahan  said: 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  move  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions 
read,  by  a  standing  vote.  The  citizen  whose  untimely 
death  we  all  deplore,  and  whose  memory  we  honor  and 
perpetuate  was  exalted  in  his  character,  and  so  blameless 
in  his  life  that  he  lived  in  peace  and  friendship  with  all 
men  and  died  without  an  enemy. 

The  universal  sorrow  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Judge  Scholfield  is  intensified  by  those  that  have  so  re- 
cently proceeded  it.  The  arrows  of  death  have  been  fly- 
ing thick  and  fast,  and  have  touched  many  whose  feet 
have  trod  the  heights  of  earthly  fame.  Butler  the  soldier 
and  lawyer;  Phillips  Brooks  the  preacher;  Lamar  from 
the  Supreme  Bench;  Hayes  the  ex-president;  Elaine  the 
statesman  and  Scholfield  the  ideal  judge,  whose  pathway 
through  life  was  above  sect  or  party,  have  fallen  close 
together.  They  followed  each  the  other  in  such  close 
succession  that  the  dying  notes  of  one  funeral  dirge  have 
blended  with  the  opening  notes  of  the  one  which  followed 
it. 

In  the  year  1856  Scholfield  was  elected  circuit  at- 
torney for  the  Fourth  Judicial  Circuit  then  containing 
ten  counties.  It  was  during  the  term  of  office  of  circuit 
attorney  that  he  made  his  first  acquaintance  with  the 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  81 

public.  His  reputation  as  a  lawyer  rose  rapidly.  His 
sturdy  honesty  commanded  universal  respect  and  admir- 
ation, and  gathered  around  him  hosts  of  friends  who 
have  never  forsaken  him.  He  believed  that  a  vigorous 
'.administration  of  the  criminal  law  gave  the  largest 
measure  of  security  to  those  who  do  not  break  law,  and 
so  made  the  law  "a  terror  to  evildoers." 

I  have  heard  Judge  Scholfield  described  as  a  timid 
man.  It  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy  his  intimate  personal 
friendship  during  his  whole  public  career.  He  was  mod- 
est and  unassuming  but  not  timid.  His  moral  courage 
was  of  the  highest  order  and  his  will  was  controlled  by 
his  conscientious  convictions  of  right  and  duty,  and  in  its 
deliberately  formed  purposes  was  immovably  fixed.  He 
was  not  obtrusive  or  self  assertive,  but  he  had  an  abiding 
confidence  in  his  own  power  to  discern  an  issue,  and  to 
lead  others  to  his  own  conclusions  in  regard  to  it. 

He  entered  upon  the  trial  of  a  great  cause  with  the 
most  deliberate  caution,  after  the  most  complete  prepar- 
ation possible.  He  had  every  available  weapon,  offen- 
sive and  defensive,  at  hand,  and  knew  what  use  he  could 
make  of  them.  Thus  equipped  doubt  vanished,  hesi- 
tancy disappeared  and  the  battle  was  fought  to  a  finish, 
without  the  slightest  appearance  of  timidity  or  fear.  In 
the  year  1873  he  was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  the  Su- 
preme Bench,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Judge 
Thornton.  His  ideal  of  the  judicial  office  was  a  very  ex- 
alted one.  It  must  be  so  high  that  the  Judge  could  look 
with  impartiality  upon  all  conditions  of  men,  and  all  in- 
terests of  society.  He  must  be  free  from  all  obligations 
other  than  to  do  right  and  justice  under  the  law.  While 
the  Supreme  Bench  was  the  goal  of  his  ambition,  he  re- 
fused to  accept  a  place  upon  it  through  the  avenues, 
and  by  all  means,  of  party  politics.  He  would  only 
have  it  as  the  gift  of  the  people  without  distinction 
of  creed  or  party. 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

In  this  he  observed  the  letter,  and  honored  the  spirit 
of  the  constitution  of  the  state.  He  placed  the  standard 
on  the  tallest  pinnacle  of  the  temple  of  judicial  honor, 
and  died  leaving  it  there.  The  question  of  the  near  fu- 
ture is — Shall  it  be  lowered? 

When  Justice  Walker  died,  Judge  Scholfield  drew 
such  a  graphic  picture  of  his  own  life  and  labor,  that  I 
cannot  do  better  than  to  reproduce  it.  He  said:  " There 
is  nothing  in  the  character  and  duties  of  a  judge  to  ex- 
cite the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  the  populace.  A 
judge  wearing  away  his  life  in  patient  toil  among  records 
and  books — a  martyr  to  his  sense  of  duty — is  not  a  spec- 
tacle to  enlist  the  applause  of  the  multitude.  Such  a  life 
is  too  barren  of  tragic  incidents,  too  unromantic  for  its 
history  to  be  embalmed  in  song  or  story,  and  yet  to  the 
few  who  are  capable  of  accurately  appreciating  such  a 
life,  it  is  grand  and  heroic." 

The  fame  of  a  judge  rests  upon  his  written  opinions 
in  causes  determined  in  the  court  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber. While  the  judgment  in  the  case  is  that  of  the  court, 
the  characteristics  of  the  judge,  his  tendency  to  enlarge 
or  to  condense,  his  perspicuity  or  prolixity  of  statement, 
his  knowledge  of  principles  and  authorities,  and  the 
trend  of  his  thought  will  be  manifest  in  the  opinions  writ- 
ten by  him.  The  members  of  the  profession  easily  learn 
who  are  the  stronger  members  of  the  court. 

Early  in  his  judicial  career,  the  ability  of  Judge 
Scholfield  was  recognized  and  acknowledged.  His  terse 
and  vigorous  style  of  writing,  his  clearness  of  statement, 
his  ready  citation  of  authorities  in  support  of  his  con- 
clusions, his  power  of  discriminaton,  his  familiarity  with 
elementary  principles,  combined  with  his  sense  of  justice, 
gave  him  a  prominence  in  the  court  which  increased  until 
his  death.  His  opinions  are  rich  in  the  literature  of  the 
law,  and  alive  with  its  spirit.  They  will  remain  as  beacon 
lights  to  illuminate  the  pathway  of  those  who  undertake 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  83 

to  explore  the  mysteries  of  the  law  in  the  future.  Such 
parts  of  them  as  are  confined  to  local  matters,  or 
questions  of  transient  interest,  will  be  lost  sight  of,  but 
wherein  they  discuss  and  determine  constitutional  and 
other  great  fundamental  questions,  they  will  endure  as 
a  monument  to  his  great  ability  as  a  judge,  more  endur- 
ing than  granite.  . 

His  life  as  a  citizen  was  as  lovable  and  exemplary  as 
his  public  life  was  exalted  and  unselfish.       When 


office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  was  within  easy  grasp,  domestic  obligations  ' 
and  duties  outweighed  all  the  promptings  of  ambition,*1 
and  all  the  allurements  of  honor,  influence,  and  power 
which  are  attendant  upon  the  highest  judicial  office  of  the  6^t— 
nation.    His  love  for  home  and  the  associations  of  home, 
together  with  his  sense  of  duty  to  his  family  were  too 
strong  to  be  severed.    His  home  was 
"His  golden  milestone, 
The  central  part  from  which  he  measured  every 

distance 

Through     the     gateways  of  the  world  around 
him." 

Across  the  sacred  threshold  of  that  home  we  may 
not  pass  today. 

It  is  in  the  keeping  of  those  he  loved.  It  is  the 
sanctuary  of  their  private  grief  and  personal  sorrow.  It 
is  ours  to  lament  the  death  of  a  distinguished  citizen  cut 
off  in  the  midst  of  his  years,  which  were  full  of  labor  and 
rich  in  honors  gathered  in  fields  of  public  and  private 
duty  faithfully  performed. 

We  speak  our  last  farewell  which  falls  on  the  "dull 
cold  Ear  of  Death."  We  listen,  but  no  echo  of  voice  or 
footfall  comes  back  from  the  land  of  spirits.  Faith  alone 
spans  the  mysterious  gulf  that  separates  us  from  that 
country  where  the  tree  of  immortal  life  grows  and 
flourishes  forever.  The  faith  in  immortality  lifts  the 


84  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

clouds  of  gloom  and  sorrow  which  cast  their  shadows 
over  us,  and  in  the  light  of  this  faith  we  look  beyond  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  present  time  and  say: 

"Our  stricken  hearts,  oh  God  to  Thee 
Beneath  whose  feet  the  stars  are  dust, 
We  bow,  and  ask  that  thou  wilt  be 
Through  every  ill  our  stay  and  trust. ' ' 

IN  THE  FEDERAL  COURT,  JUNE  9.  1903 

In  the  Federal  Court  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  June  9, 
1893,  was  set  apart  for  the  presentation  of  resolutions  and 
memorial  addresses  in  honor  of  Judge  John  Scholfield 
deceased.  Resolutions  were  presented  by  Hon.  Samuel 
P.  Wheeler,  who  addressed  the  court,  and  moved  the 
adoption  of  the  resolutions. 

Judge  Ethelbert  Callahan  followed  in  seconding  the 
motion  of  Judge  Wheeler;  he  said: 

There  are  passages  in  the  journey  of  life  which  are 
overhung  with  clouds  of  grief  and  sorrow.  But,  with 
the  faith  of  Christian  men  we  enter  these  darkened  ways 
and  pass  under  these  shadows  willingly.  Our  hearts  do 
not  turn  back  in  fear,  but  urge  us  forward  with  an  in- 
spiration of  hope  and  courage.  The  sorrow  laden  air  is 
perfumed  with  the  memory  of  those  whom  we  have  known 
and  loved.  Our  faith  is  that  above  the  clouds  which  dark- 
en our  path  with  their  shadows,  beyond  the  valley  of 
tears  through  which  we  go — far  out  in  the  boundless  em- 
pire of  immortality  our  departed  friends  have  found  rest 
and  peace,  and  that  we  too  shall  soon  pass  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  and  become  citizens  of  that 
celestial  country  to  which  our  friends  have  preceeded  us. 

It  is  right  and  proper,  in  these  darkened  hours  sacred 
to  memories  that  are  softened  by  the  touch  of  sorrow, 
that  we  shall  pause  long  enough  to  record  in  some  endur- 
ing manner,  some  memorial  of  the  work  and  worth  of  our 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  85 

friends  who  have  taken  their  final  departure  into  the  land 
of  spirits — some  picture  of  what  tney  were. 

The  first  picture  which  my  memory  recalls  in  the  life 
of  Judge  Scholfield  is  that  of  a  young  man  who  had  not 
yet  entered  fully  into  the  race  of  life,  though  his  profes- 
sion was  chosen.  He  was  in  training  for  the  eminent 
career  that  was  to  follow;  a  student  bouyed  up  by  allur- 
ing visions  of  hope ;  made  cautious  by  distrust  of  his  own 
powers;  modest  and  diffident,  but  withal  he  had  that 
steady  purpose  to  do;  that  fixedness  of  thought  and  con- 
sistency of  action,  that  always  attest  the  presence  of  great 
moral  courage,  and  give  promise  of  high  achievements 
in  the  field  of  human  action. 

Later  comes  the  picture  of  the  man  in  action  as  the 
ideal  lawyer.  His  character  had  matured  and  strength- 
ened. He  had  acquired  confidence  in  himself,  and  won 
the  confidence  of  a  large  clientage.  The  management  of 
great  causes  was  committed  to  him.  His  capacity  for 
work  was  enormous;  his  preparation  of  the  trial  of  a 
cause  was  exhaustive.  In  the  contests  of  the  court  room 
he  was  the  embodiment  of  courtesy  and  courage;  adroit 
in  the  examination  of  witnesses;  logical  in  the  statement 
of  a  case  to  court,  or  jury,  and  forceful  in  argument  he 
achieved  a  large  measure  of  sucess  and  won  a  reputation 
as  a  man  and  as  a  lawyer.  This  picture  of  an  active  pro- 
fessional life  is  the  one  which  may  be  most  profitably 
studied  and  copied  by  young  men  entering  the  profession. 
It  points  the  way  of  duty  and  success. 

The  last  picture  in  the  life  of  Judge  Scholfield  is  the 
picture  by  which  the  world  knows  and  will  remember  him. 
It  is  not  in  high  color.  It  has  not  the  rosy  hues  of  youth, 
nor  the  strong  lights  of  earlier  manhood.  Its  lights  and 
shades  are  blinded  and  mellowed  by  the  touch  of  time. 
Its  color  tone  is  of  those  milder  tints  with  which  the  great 
masters  of  art  have  touched  the  canvass"  when  they  would 
exalt  and  glorify  humanity.  It  is  the  picture  of  the  priest 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

who  reached  the  temple  of  fame,  while  not  so  much  as 
lifting  his  eyes  towards  its  glittering  towers.  It  is  the 
picture  of  a  strong  man  for  twenty  long  years,  quietly 
and  unceasingly  giving  all  his  mental  and  physical 
powers  to  the  faithful  keeping  of  a  public  trust.  The  pic- 
ture of  an  unselfish  subordination  of  all  personal  consid^ 
eration  to  the  demands  of  public  duty. 

In  his  life  time  we  all  know  how  faithful  he  was. 
Since  he  is  dead  we  review  his  labor  and  its  results,  and 
realize  how  great  he  was.  We  realize  how  firmly  his  mind 
grasped  and  held  rich  treasures  of  the  law  gathered  from 
the  wisdom  of  the  centuries ;  we  realize  that  in  his  written 
opinions,  public  and  private  rights  have  found  new  de- 
fenses, and  new  harmonies  have  been  established  between 
law  and  liberty. 

This  graver  picture  from  the  life  of  the  great  lawyer 
and  judge,  is  the  one  that  will  live  longest  in  my  own 
memory.  It  is  the  picture  which  rises  before  .me  now,  as 
the  culmination  of  forty  years  of  personal  friendship  and 
professional  association,  and  to  which  I  pay  the  tribute 
of  friendship,  admiration  and  love. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  87 


IN  MEMORY  OF  HON.  JAMES  C.  ALLEN 

AT  OLNEY,  ILLINOIS,  FEBRUARY  1,  1912 

" Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  We  are  here  assembled 
for  the  purpose  of  recalling  and  recording  the  prominent 
acts  in  the  long  life  of  a  distinguished  fellow  citizen  who 
was  eminently  useful  and  highly  honorable  as  a  patriot, 
a  Christian,  a  lawyer,  and  a  judge.  One  who  has  left  the 
courts  of  earth  where  the  imperfections,  mistakes,  and 
controversies  of  human  life  and  business  are  the  sub- 
jects of  adjudication,  and  gone  to  that  bench  and  bar  be- 
yond the  clouds  of  time,  where  the  law  is  perfect,  the 
testimony  sure  and  the  judgments  'true  and  righteous 
altogether. ' 

"Judge  Allen  was  a  man  of  rich  and  rare  natural 
gifts  and  graces.  He  was  the  servant  to  whom  his  lord 
gave  ten  talents,  and  charged  him  with  the  improvement 
and  increase  thereof. 

"His  physical  organization  was  the  best.  Strength 
and  beauty  were  combined.  His  personal  presence  was 
commanding.  His  voice  was  strong  and  equally  musical 
making  a  stump  speech  or  a  legal  argument,  telling  a 
story  or  singing  a  song,  reading  a  sermon  or  leading 
a  congregation  of  worshippers  in  prayer.  His  social 
qualities  were  of  a  very  high  order  and  made  him  a  wel- 
come guest  in  every  circle  in  which  he  moved,  from  the 
rude  camp  of  the  hunting  party  to  the  parlor  of  polite 
society.  His  intellect  was  broad  and  comprehensive.  He 
gathered  facts  easily  and  rapidly  and  retained  them 
firmly. 


88  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

' '  His  mind  was  quick,  logical  and  conclusive  in  oper- 
ation. Right  or  wrong  his  conclusions  came  with  little 
hesitation,  and  generally  action  followed  closely  on  the 
heels  of  conclusion.  In  matters  of  religion  he  was  rever- 
ent and  in  business  just  and  right  in  every  aim  and  pur- 
pose. 

"My  personal  acquaintance  with  Judge  Allen  be- 
gan in  the  late  summer  of  ]  850  when  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  state  legislature.  He  was  making  a  speech  in  the 
court  house  at  Robinson.  He  promised  that  if  he  was 
elected  he  would  advocate  the  improvement  of  the  Em- 
barras  river  by  locks  and  dams,  and  drew  a  picture  of 
the  tide  of  commerce  to  be  carried  along  the  stream  by 
fleets  of  steamboats  that  would  charm  the  most  pessi- 
mistic resident  of  the  Dark  Bend.  That  was  in  the  days 
when  canals  and  water  navigation  were  popular  and  the 
state  was  pouring  millions  into  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal  and  the  Illinois  river. 

"When  state  policy  was  denying  charters  to  rail- 
roads terminating  at  or  near,  the  foreign  city  of  St. 
Louis,  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  he  advocated  a 
shackles  with  which  narrow  minded  politics  had  hither- 
pro  vements;  and  did  splendid  service  in  breaking  the 
shackles  wiht  which  narrow  minded  politics  had  hither- 
to bound  the  state,  and  fettered  the  spirit  of  progress 
which  was  then  awaking  among  the  people. 

"A  very  strong  speech  of  Judge  Allen  against  this 
narrow  state  policy  was  printed  in  the  Illinois  State 
Democrat  at  Marshall  and  was  extensively  circulated  in 
Southern  Illinois,  and  this  speech  largely  influenced  his 
nomination  and  election  to  Congress  in  1852. 

X'ln  1862  he  was  the  democratic  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor and  made  a  canvas  of  the  state  that  commanded 
the  admiration  of  both  parties  and  gave  him  national 
preeminence  and  reputation. 

"In  1860  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  state 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  89 

at  large  as  a  ''war  democrat"  over  Eben  C.  Ingersoll, 
republican.  In  1861  he  had  drilled  a  company  of  militia 
and  encouraged  enlistment  in  the  army.  His  high  char- 
acter and  recognized  ability  and  the  wide  influence  he 
wielded  caused  Governor  Yates  and  President  Lincoln 
to  be  very  anxious  to  secure  his  active  co-operation  and 
assistance  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  They  desired 
him  to  take  the  stand  taken  by  Douglas  and  the  action 
taken  by  Logan.  The  governor  tendered  him  the  com- 
mand of  a  regiment.  The  president  offered  him  com- 
mand of  the  " Kentucky  Brigade"  but  each  offer  was 
declined  on  the  ground  that  he  had  no  military  ex- 
perience or  training  necessary  to  fit  him  for  so  respon- 
sible a  position. 

"In  Congress  he  voted  for  every  appropriation  of 
men  and  money  which  was  asked  by  the  administration 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  war  though  he  did  not  fully  ap- 
prove of  them.  There  was  a  line  that  he  never  would 
pass,  and  from  which  he  later,  retreated.  If  he  had 
crossed  that  line  and  given  his  full  support  to  the  admin- 
istration of  President  Lincoln  he  might  have  won  a  sen- 
atorial toga  or  seated  himself  in  the  gubernatorial  chair. 
This  was  the  hour  of  his  opportunity — but  it  was  allowed 
to  pass  by. 

"  June  17th,  1863,  he  was  a  speaker  at  the  conclave  of 
politicians  at  Springfield  that  resolved  "That  the  fur- 
ther offensive  prosecution  of  the  war  tends  to  subvert  the 
constitution  and  the  government  and  entail  upon  the  na- 
tion all  the  disastrous  consequence  of  misrule  and  anar- 
chy" and  "earnestly  requested  the  president  to  with- 
draw the  proclamation  of  emancipation." 

"In  1869  he  was  elected  without  opposition  a  mem- 
ber of  the  constitutional  convention  that  formed  the  pres- 
ent constitution  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  the  Legislative  Department  and 
was  entitled  to  great  credit  for  service  wisely  rendered  in 


90  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

that  capacity.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
useful  members  of  the  convention. 

"I  now  turn  back  in  point  of  time  to  the  judicial 
services  which  he  rendered  and  the  judicial  honors  which 
he  justly  earned  and  rightly  held  during  his  lifetime. 

* '  In  1861  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  seventh  circuit 
and  served  as  such  until  his  election  to  Congress  in  1862 
and  in  June  1873  he  was  again  elected  judge  of  the  cir- 
cuit court  in  the  second  judicial  circuit  and  served  as 
such  judge  until  1879.  From  1877  to  1879  he  was  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  appellate  court  in  the  Fourth  Appel- 
late Court  District. 

"He  was  not  a  case  lawyer  or  judge.  He  was  too 
much  in  political  life  to  be  what  is  called  a  close  or  criti- 
cal lawyer.  Cases  and  precedents  were  often  ignored  by 
him,  if  indeed  he  knew  them.  Detail  was  often  over- 
looked or  lost  sight  of  in  his  reach  for,  and  grasp  of  such 
general  principles  of  right  and  justice  as  constituted 
proper  limitations  of  .human  action,  and  are  necessary 
for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  rights  of  per- 
son, reputation  and  property. 

"When  he  came  to  the  bench,  the  old  books,  Black- 
stone  and  Chitty,  Kent  and  Story,  and  a  few  others  were 
the  authorities  read  by  students  and  by  which  lawyers 
and  courts  were  guided.  There  were  only  a  few  supreme 
court  decisions,  and  no  books  on  pleading  and  practice 
within  the  state.  Cases  were  argued  and  determined  on 
principle  and  not  such  so  much  as  now  on  the  citation  of 
cases.  Judge  Allen  was  well  grounded  in  the  fund- 
amemental  principles  of  the  law  which  had  been  deduced 
from  the  experience  of  ages  and  recorded  in  such  books 
as  I  have  already  mentioned. 

"  As  a  judge  he  used  this  knowledge  to  the  best  pos- 
sible advantage.  He  was  largely  gifted  with  that  brand 
of  common  sence  which  enabled  him  to  grasp  readily, 
and  to  decide  correctly  and  justly  the  questions  and  con- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  91 

troversies  which  arise  between  citizens  engaged  in,  or 
transacting  the  ordinary  business  of  life.  He  was  al- 
ways true  to  his  own  convictions  as  to  what  were  the  de- 
mands of  right  and  justice  in  every  case  decided  by  him. 
This  sense  of  justice  and  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  law  were  as  lamps  to  his  feet ;  and  his  ability  to  grasp 
questions  and  apply  his  knowledge  to  given  cases  made 
him  an  eminently  satisfactory  judge. 

"I  had  an  extensive  practice  in  his  court  during  the 
time  of  his  judicial  service,  and  had  a  good  understand- 
ing of  his  methods  of  reaching  conclusions  and  deciding 
cases,  and  many  times  felt  the  force  of  his  influence  in 
cases  where  the  weakness  or  mistake  of  the  opposing 
counsel  seemed  to  endanger  the  rights  of  clients.  When 
I  complained  he  justified  by  saying  that  it  was  necessary 
in  order  that  injustice  might  not  be  done. 

"Judge  Allen  was  a  good  trial  lawyer.  He  quickly 
apprehended  the  vital  points  in  a  case  and  would  ignore 
or  brush  aside  unimportant  questions  or  frivolities  upon 
which  many  lawyers  waste  time  and  which  weaken  rath- 
er than  give  strength  to  their  cases.  He  was  concise  and 
forcible  in  the  statement  of  a  case. 

"His  examination  of  his  witnesses  was  direct  and 
addressed  to  the  matters  in  controversy.  His  method  of 
cross-examination  was  an  adroit  and  skillful  search  after 
facts,  and  to  make  a  fair  test  of  the  veracity  of  witnesses 
of  whose  entire  truthfulness  he  entertained  some  doubt. 
He  was  quick  to  avail  himself  of  such  points  of  advan- 
tage, or  of  disadvantage  as  often  arise  in  the  progress 
.of  a  trial.  In  argument  to  a  court  or  jury  he  was  forceful, 
fluent  and  often  eloquent.  In  a  legal  battle  he  used  vig- 
orously every  weapon  at  his  command  that  might  be  con- 
sistently and  honorably  used.  In  the  heat  of  argument 
and  while  under  high  excitement  he  sometimes  dealt 
blows  that  seemed  to  be  cruel  and  unnecessary,  but  his 


92  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

warm  hearted  generosity  and  kindly  sympathy  soon 
soothed  and  healed  the  wound  he  had  caused. 

"When  he  was  with  me  in  a  case  I  knew  and  felt 
that  I  had  a  strong  and  resourceful  associate.  When  he 
opposed  I  knew  that  while  the  conflict  might  be  intense 
it  would  be  from  the  front  and  fair  and  open.  Judge 
Allen  deservedly  held  high  rank  as  a  member  of  the 
Illinois  bar. 

' t  In  politics  Judge  Allen  was  conscientously  and  con- 
sistently a  democratic  partisan,  and  throughout  his  en- 
tire life  held  the  doctrines  and  traditions  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  to  be  the  only  true  political  faith  of  the  best 
American  citizenship.  The  storms  of  civil  war  that 
swept  over  the  country  from  '61  to  '65  and  the  terrible 
conflicts  of  the  many  stricken  battlefields  did  not  shake 
his  political  faith,  disturb  his  loyalty  to  his  party  or 
make  his  partisanship  less  honest  or  less  intense. 

"He  was  a  leader  of  men  in  whatever  sphere  he 
moved,  whether  in  the  church,  the  political  party,  the 
social  circle  or  in  the  diversions  for  recreation  and  rest 
in  which  he  often  indulged.  The  strong  and  positive 
manifestation  of  his  temperament  and  feeling  while  en- 
gaged in  different  pursuits,  occupations  or  diversions 
led  some  to  suspect  that  he  was  not  entirely  sincere  in 
his  religious  professions  and  service  but  those  who  so 
suspected  were  grossly  mistaken.  To  say  that  he  was 
always  absolutely  perfect  and  consistent  would  be  to  say 
that  he  was  not  human.  His  faults  were  so  trivial  that 
he  might  well  challenge  comparison  with  any  who  doubt- 
ed his  sincerity  or  criticized  his  conduct. 

"When  the  subject  of  religion  was  under  consider- 
ation he  was  devout  and  reverential.  Few  men  had  the 
courage  to  live  up  to  their  convictions  of  duty,  and  serve 
the  church  more  faithfully  than  he.  His  Christian  faith 
and  service  call  upon  us  to  write  upon  the  tomb  "The 
Christian  Lawyer." 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  93 

"He  was  from  his  youth  to  his  old  age  an  honored 
member  and  for  many  years  an  officer  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  In  1851  I  attended  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Palestine,  Illinois.  In  the  absence  of  a  minis- 
ter Judge  Allen  took  his  place  and  conducted  the 
services.  He  was  loyal  to  his  church  during  his  long 
useful  and  honored  life.  He  was  a  reader  and  student  of 
the  Bible  and  often  drew  from  it  gems  of  thought  and 
beauties  of  language  to  adorn  his  public  speeches  and  ar- 
guments. To  him  Moses  was  the  inspired  lawgiver,  and 
the  commands  and  prohibitions  which  were  contained  in 
the  Mosaic  Code  were  the  immovable  foundations  upon 
which  the  temple  of  human  justice  must  eternally  stand. 
Upon  this  sure  foundation  Judge  Allen  built  his  char- 
acter as  a  man,  a  lawyer  and  a  Christian.  As  the  infirm- 
ities of  age  lured  his  thought  and  his  affection  away, 
from  the  business  and  affairs  of  life  his  interest  in  the 
church  and  the  religion  which  the  church  teaches  in- 
creased. His  thought  was  more  and  more  turned  to  the 
consideration  of  things  unseen  and  eternal.  The  love  of 
mortal  life  decreased  and  the  desire  for  life  eternal  grew 
brighter  and  stronger.  It  is  a  merciful  provision  by  the 
Author  of  all  life  that  to  those  who  have  lived  long  and 
well  the  love  of  mortal  life  is  merged  into  a  desire  to  de- 
part and  be  at  rest  before  the  summons  of  departure 
comes. 

"The  stalwart  form  of  our  friend  is  laid  low.  His 
eloquence  is  silenced.  No  more  at  the  bar,  or  on  the 
judgment  seat  shall  we  hear  the  music  of  his  voice  plead- 
ing for  the  right,  or  pronouncing  just  judgments.  But 
we  have  his  honorable  and  useful  life  as  a  lesson  and  as 
an  example.  We  lawyers  here  assembled  honor  his  name 
and  memory  and  pray  that  his  example  may  be  an  in- 
spiration of  love  and  loyalty  to  our  profession,  and  of  de- 
votion to  duty  faithfully  performed. 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ON  LAYING  CORNERSTONE  OF  COURT  HOUSE 

IN  ROBINSON.  OCTOBER  30,  1895 

Grand  Master  and  Fellow  Citizens: 

This  is  an  auspicious  occasion  for  Crawford  county. 
The  committee  of  arrangements  assigned  to  me  the  duty 
of  making  an  appropiate  historical  address.  I  am  not  to 
discuss  political,  legal  or  social  questions  or  theories, 
but  shall  confine  myself  to  such  parts  of  the  local  history 
of  the  county  as  appear  to  be  appropriate  to  the  pur- 
poses of  this  assemblage. 

The  division  of  Kingdoms,  Empires  and  States  into 
counties  may  be  traced  back  through  the  annals  of  hist- 
ory to  the  Roman  Empire.  Except  in  America  counties 
have  integral  parts  of  either  royal  or  aristocratic  gov- 
ernments. The  Count  or  Earl,  who  was  the  principal  man 
in  the  county,  either  inherited  his  title,  dignity  and  auth 
'ority  from  his  ancestors,  or  derived  them  directly  from 
the  Emperor  or  King. 

In  America  the  royal  and  aristocratic  features  have 
been  eliminated,  and  the  county  has  become  a  prominent 
feature  of,  and  a  principal  instrumentality  in  the  admin- 
istration of  a  Democratic  government,  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people.  The  county  itself  is  created,  and  its  boun- 
daries are  defined  by  laws  enacted  in  the  name  of,  and  by 
authority  of  the  people.  All  county  officers,  and  all  offi- 
cers within  the  county,  are  chosen  by  the  vote  of  the 
people.  The  seat  of  justice,  where  the  affairs  and  bus- 
iness of  the  county  are  transacted,  and  the  laws  adminis- 
tered is  selected  by  the  people.  The  American  county, 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  95 

in  the  highest,  broadest  and  best  sense  of  the  word,  is 
Democratic,  and  the  citizen  of  the  county,  without  any 
abatement  of  his  state  pride  or  national  patriotism,  feels 
a  special  interest  in,  and  love  for,  the  county  in  which  he 
dwells.  It  concerns  his  daily  life,  and  his  material  in- 
terests are  so  interwoven  with  the  affairs  of  the  county 
that  he  could  not  ignore  them  if  he  would. 

It  is  in  the  light  of,  and  with 'especial  reference  to 
this  personal  and  local  interest  that  I  address  my  fellow 
citizens  of  Crawford  county  on  this  occasion.  • 

Crawford  county  was  created  by  an  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  the  territory  of  Illinois  passed  in  December, 
A.  D.  1816.  Its  boundaries  were  a  little  different  from 
what  they  are  today.  It  commenced  "at  the  mouth  of  the 
Embarras  river  and  running  with  said  river  to  the  inter- 
section of  the  line  dividing  townships  numbered  three  (3) 
and  forr  (4)  north  of  range  eleven  (11),  west  of  the  sec- 
ond principal  meridian;  running  thence  west  with  said 
township  line  to  the  meridian,  and  thence  due  north  un- 
til it  strikes  the  line  of  r/pper  Canada;  thence  east  to  the 
line  that  separates  the  Illinois  Territory  from  the  state  of 
Indiana,  and  thence  south  with  said  division  line  to  the 
beginning,  so  that  it  contained  more  than  one-third  of 
the  state  of  Illinois,  and  the  east  half  of  the  state  of  Wis- 
consin. In  this  vast  territory  there  was  then  less  than 
three  thousand  people.  In  fact,  in  1820,  when  the  census 
was  taken,  it  just  came  within  one  of  being  three  thous- 
and. There  were  no  towns  in  it  then  that  were  rivals  for 
the  county  seat;  no  chance  to  stuff  the  ballot  boxes  in  fav- 
or of  one  town  and  against  another  as  has  since  been  done. 

The  county  seat  was  located  at  the  house  of  Edward 
N.  Cullom,  without  saying  where  the  house  of  Edward  N. 
Cullom  was.  I  understand  that  Edward  N.  Cullom  then 
owned  half  of  the  land  where  the  village  of  Palestine  now 
stands,  and  that  his  house  was  a  log  cabin  with  a  cat  and 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

clay  cliimney  and  a  puncheon  floor,  and  that  was  the  first 
court  house  in  the  county  of  Crawford. 

As  population  increased  other  counties  were  formed 
out  of  this  territory.  Clark  county  in  1819,  Lawrence 
county  in  1821,  and  Jasper  county  in  1831,  fixed  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Crawford  county. 

The  act  creating  the  county  appointed  three  com- 
missioners to  permanently  locate  the  seat  of  justice.  From 
some  cause  or  other  these  men  failed  to  discharge  that 
duty;  and  by  another  act,  passed  December  24, 1817,  Seth 
Gard  and  Thomas  Kean  were  appointed  commissioners 
to  locate  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county. 

On  April  8th,  1818,  these  commissioners  reported  to 
the  county  justice's  court  consisting  of  Samuel  Harris, 
George  W.  Kinkade,  James  Shaw,  Smith  Shaw  and 
Joseph  Kitchell,  that  they  had  performed  the  duty  as- 
signed to  them.  The  size  of  the  location  is  not  given.  The 
only  point  mentioned  is  the  center  of  the  public  square, 
which  was  eighty  rods  north  of  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  34,  town  7,  north  of  range 
11,  west  of  the  second  principal  meridian.  The  center  of 
the  public  square  to  be  on  the  line  dividing  sections  34 
and  35  in  the  town  and  range  aforesaid,  and  named  the 
said  seat  of  justice  Palestine.  The  report  was  accepted 
and  approved  by  the  court  and  the  seat  of  justice  was  re- 
moved from  the  house  of  Mr.  Cullom. 

On  the  5th  day  of  August,  1818,  at  a  term  of  the 
justice 's  court  at  which  justices  Smith  Shaw,  David  Por- 
ter and  S.  B.  A.  Carter  were  present,  an  order  was  en- 
tered of  record  that  a  brick  court  house  with  stone  foun- 
dations should  be  built  forty-four  feet  long  and  thirty- 
six  feet  wide,  the  first  story  to  be  eighteen,  and  the  second 
story  eight  feet  high.  There  were  to  be  two  doors  four 
feet  wide  and  seven  feet  high,  and  ten  windows  of  "  a  size 
to  allow  forty-five  panes  of  glass  eight  by  ten;"  "three 
chimneys  with  fireplaces,"  and  "the  roof  to  be  made 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  97 

strong  as  is  common  for  such  buildings,  neither  too  steep 
nor  too  flat. ' ' 

This  court  house  was  built  by  William  Lindsay,  of 
Vincennes  who  disagreed  with  the  county  authorities 
about  the  character  of  the,work.  An  arbitration  was  had 
which  resulted  in  favor  of  the  contractor,  who  afterwards 
sued  the  county  in  the  Edwards  Circuit  Court  and  re- 
covered a  judgment  for  about  eighteen  hundred  dollars. 
At  the  December  term  1819  of  the  county  commissioners ' 
court  this  court  house  was  received,  and  the  March  term, 
1820,  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  in  it.  On  the  third  day 
of  March  an  order  was  made  by  the  county  commissioners 
"to  stop  up  the  windows  with  clapboards;  also  to  dig 
away  the  rubbish  from  the  east  side,  six  inches  below  the 
brick. ' '  Other  orders  followed  directing  six  of  the  win- 
dows to  be  filled  with  brick ;  and  that  the  house  be  decor- 
ated with  * '  Venetian  blinds  and  a  cornice  like  that  on  the 
steam  saw-mill  at  Vincennes."  But  it  was  an  ill-fated, 
shortlived  building.  Lightning  played  ''pitch  and  toss" 
with  its  bricks  and  timbers.  The  corroding  tooth  of  time 
gnawed  at  its  foundations.  The  citizens  carried  away 
its  loose  planks,  the  bats  inhabited  its  desolate  chambers. 
It  was  a  ruin,  unfit  for  use  and  several  terms  of  court 
were  held  in  private  houses. 

At  the  March  term,  1832,  of  the  County  Commission- 
ers Court,  it  was  ordered  that  all  persons  who  had  ' '  taken 
plank  from  the  old  court  house,  be  requested  to  call  on  the 
court,  at  its  June  term,  and  account  for  the  same;  other- 
wise coercive  measures  will  be  taken  against  them." 

It  was  at  the  same  term  ordered  that  a  court  house 
be  built  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  public  square. 
"To  be  a  frame,  thirty-six  feet  long  and  twenty-four 
feet  wide,  two  stories  high,"  and  the  "foundations  to  be 
set  on  good  sawed  blocks  fifteen  inches  high, ' '  and  to  be 
completed  "on  or  before  the  15th  day  of  September 
next. "  It  is  said,  though  the  records  do  not  show  it,  that 


98  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

it  was  built  by  the  seven  Jesse  Myerses,  and  that 
on  the  night  of  completion  it  was  burned  up, 
and  it  ought  not  to  have  a  place  in  the  Judicial  his- 
tory of  the  county  court  houses. 

At  the  December  term,  1832,  of  the  Commissioners 
Court  it  was  ordered  that  another  court  house  be  built  on 
or  near  the  same  spot  where  the  one  recently  burned 
stood.  The  size  and  general  description  to  be  substan- 
tially the  same  as  the  one  burnt ;  the  foundation  was  to  be 
brick  or  stone  in  place  of  the  "good  sawed  blocks"  of  its 
predecessor.  Presley  O.  Wilson  and  Sewell  Goodrich  built 
this  third  public  court  house,  and  the  courts  of  the  county 
were  held  in  it  until  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  in 
1843.  After  that  time  it  was  used  for  a  school  house  until 
it  was  consumed  by  fire. 

At  an  election  held  in  the  year  A.  D.  1843,  the  people 
of  the  county  voted  to  remove  the  county  seat  from  Pales- 
tine to  the  site  where  the  city  of  Robinson  now  stands. 
The  new  county  seat  was  named  in  honor  of  Judge  John 
M.  Robinson,  who  had  represented  the  State  of  Illinois 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  ?nd  was  at  this  time  a  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  This  removal  created 
the  necessity  of  another  court  house. 

On  the  29th  day  of  December,  1843,  the  building  of 
a  temporary  court  house  was  let  to  Abraham  B.  Jeffries 
and  Charles  B.  Shepherd  for  $350.00  payable  in  county 
orders  at  par.  At  the  June  term,  1844,  this  temporary 
court  house  was  accepted  and  courts  were  held  in  it  until 
another  was  provided.  It  now  stands  on  North  Cross 
street,  north  of  John  Olwin  &  Co.,  dry  goods  store. 

At  a  special  term  of  the  County  Commissioners  court 
held  on  the  4th  day  of  October,  1844,  an  order  was  made 
for  the  building  of  a  court  house  on  the  present  public 
square.  The  records  do  not  show  any  contract  for  the 
building  as  a  whole,  nor  do  they  disclose  the  cost  to  the 
county.  Brick  was  bought  of  one  person,  timber  from 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  99 

another,  and  other  material  from  whoever  had  it  for  sale. 
Courts  were  held  in  it  sooner,  but  it  was  not  completed 
until  after  1850,  and  there  is  no  record  to  show  that  it 
was  ever  formally  received  by  the  county.  It  was  de- 
signed without  mechanical  skill,  constructed  by  piece 
meal,  required  repair  before  it  was  finished,  and  was,  in 
plan  and  construction,  inadequate  to  the  requirements 
of  the  business  of  the  county.  It  gave  no  security  to  the 
public  records  upon  which  rests  the  private  rights  of 
the  citizen. 

Memory  is  forever  turning  towards  the  years  that 
have  flown  into  the  eternal  silence  of  the  past,  and  clam- 
oring for  their  return.  Let  memory  have  its  will  for  a 
few  moments.  Let  imagination  go  with  memory  to  the 
court  held  at  the  house  of  Edward  N.  Cullom,  on  the  7th 
day  of  July,  1819,  to  try  William  Kilbuck,  Captain  Thom- 
as and  Big  Panther  for  the  murder  of  Thomas  McCall. 
M-cCall  was  a  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States. 
His  camp  had  the  usual  supplies  of  a  government  survey- 
or. The  defendants  were  Delaware  Indians  and  loved 
"Fire  Water."  They  went  to  McCall  in  the  field  and 
asked  him  to  write  them  an  order  to  the  man  in  charge 
of  the  camp  for  whiskey.  He  pretended  to  comply  with 
their  request,  but  gave  the  order  not  to  let  them  have  it. 
For  this  deception  they  murdered  him. 

The  Indians  were  indicted  on  Thursday,  tried  and 
found  guilty  on  Friday.  On  Saturday  the  court  arrested 
the  judgement  and  quashed  the  indictment.  Another  in- 
dictment was  instantly  turned  against  Killbuck,  and  he 
was  put  upon  trial  and  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  be 
hanged  on  the  next  Wednesday.  The  other  two  were  in- 
dicted together  and  ordered  to  be  held  in  custody  until 
the  next  term  of  court. 

There  were  so  few  whites,  and  so  many  Indians,  in 
the  county  that  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  hang  them, 
and  they  were  all  allowed  to  escape. 


100  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

The  year  1826,  so  far  as  the  records  show,  was  the 
closing  scene  of  slavery  in  this  county.  "Tony"  (black) 
and  Amy  (a  black  girl)  sued  for  and  were  granted  cer- 
tificates of  freedom.  "Tony"  was  the  property  of  the  ven- 
erable Quaker,  Nathan  Musgrave,  and  was  given  his  free- 
dom on  the  testimony  of  his  master.  "Amy"  belonged 
to  Colonel  John  Houston  whose  name  and  memory  are 
venerated  by  all  who  knew  him. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  an  original  indictment  against 
Cornelius  Taylor  for  bringing  home  a  hog  without  ears, 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  which  was  returned  in  the  Territorial  Court, 
continued  at  all  courts  held  at  Cullom's  and  disposed  of 
at  the  first  term  held  in  the  brick  court  house.  The  hon- 
ors of  this  singular  unique  indictment  must  be  shared, 
first  between  the  United  States  and  the  State  of  Illinois, 
and  secondly  between  "Cullom's  house"  and  the  brick 
court  house. 

Listen  for  a  moment,  while  this  same  Cornelius  Tay- 
lor and  clivers  other  pioneers  are  tried  and  convicted  for 
selling  whiskey  to  the  Indians. 

Look  and  listen  another  moment,  while  your  fathers 
and  grandfathers  are  tried  on  indictments  for  T.  A.  B., 
which  being  spelled  out  means;  Trespass,  Assault  and 
Battery. 

Another  memory  of  the  brick  court  house  is  of  May 
9th,  1825.  It  is  Robert  Owen,  philosopher,  scientist  and 
social  reformer,  standing  at  the  bar  of  the  court,  renounc- 
ing his  allegiance  to  the  King  and  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  swearing  allegiance  to  the  "Starry  Flag"  of 
the  American  Republic. 

I  have  many  personal  memories  of  the  court  house 
of  1845.  In  it  I  tried  my  first  law  suit  in  a  court  of  record. 
Since  then  I  have  had  many  legal  battles  within  its  walls, 
in  which  I  have  suffered  many  defeats  and  some  victor- 
ies. The  older  members  of  the  bar,  who  were  here  when 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  101 

I  entered  the  profession,  and  some  who  were  not  older 
than  myself,  have  gone  to  the  bar  and  bench  beyond  the 
clouds  of  time.  Harlan,  Kitchell,  Constable,  Scholfield, 
Deems  and  Shaw,  from  the  bench ;  Bowman,  Linder,  Har- 
row, Ficklin,  Alexander,  Fletcher,  Robinson,  Olwin,  Peck, 
Steel  and  Robb,  from  the  bar.  I  would  love  to  stop  long 
enough  to  pay  tribute  to  each  of  these  friends  and  associ- 
ates at  the  bar,  and  revive  the  memory  of  the  sharp  con- 
tests and  pleasant  associations  of  our  professional  life, 
but  time  forbids.  I  must  turn  to  the  duties  of  the  pres- 
ent hour. 

It  seems  but  a  moment  ago — but  a  short  time  since 
it  was  first  announced  that  the  old  court  house  was  in- 
secure— the  old  court  house  of  1845.  When  Judge  Lan- 
des  came  here  on  the  fifth  day  of  March,  1895,  he  caused 
a  committee  of  architects,  consisting  of  Edward  N.  Otey, 
Elisha  Brubaker  and  Thomas  C.  Walter,  to  be  appointed, 
and  directed  them  to  examine  the  house  and  report  to 
him.  These  men,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  build- 
ing, reported  that  it  was  unsafe  and  dangerous  to  human 
life.  Upon  that  report  Judge  Landes  did  right  in  entering 
an  order  condemning  the  court  house.  He  then  adjourned 
the  court  to  the  Opera  House,  where  the  courts  have  since 
that  time  been  held. 

There  was  then  a  duty  devolving  upon  the  Board  of 
Supervisors.  The  law  makes  it  a  duty  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  to  provide  proper  court  houses  and  other 
public  buildings.  They  prepared  and  submitted  to  the 
people  a  plan  for  issuing  forty  thousand  dollars  of  the 
bonds  of  the  county  for  the  erection  of  a  court  house.  An 
election  was  held  on  the  second  day  of  April,  1895,  and 
the  proposition  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  512  votes. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  among 
the  people  as  to  what  that  vote  meant.  Some  said  that  it 
was  against  a  new  court  house — that  the  people  did  not 
want  a  court  house.  But  the  sensible  men  of  the  County 


102  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH     . 

Board  said:  "It  means  no  such  thing.  It  means  they  do 
not  want  it  built  that  way, ' '  and  a  majority  of  that  Board 
feeling  the  responsibility,  and  desiring  to  discharge  the 
duty  devolving  upon  them  to  provide  proper  places  for 
the  safe  keeping  of  the  records  and  archives  of  the  coun- 
ty, upon  which  the  safety  of  your  property  and  mine 
rests,  resolved  to  take  the  course  which  other  counties 
have  taken,  and  build  a  court  house  and  pay  for  it  with 
interest  bearing  county  warrants.  Resolutions  to  that 
effect  were  prepared  and  presented  to  the  County  Board. 
H.  L.  Bovell,  the  Supervisor  from  this  town,  moved  their 
adoption;  Mr.  Smith  seconded  the  motion,  and  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  the  resolutions  were  passed,  and  the  work 
of  building  the  court  house  was  bravely  and  courageous- 
ly undertaken  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  Mr.  Mush- 
rush,  the  chairman,  appointed  a  building  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Hugh  L.  Bovell,  Isaac  P.  Smith,  George  B. 
Everingham,  J.  W.  Weger,  and  of  which  Mr.  Mushrush 
was  an  ex-officio  member.  Mr.  Bovell  was  made  chair- 
man of  this  committee,  and  I  take  occasion  to  say  now, 
to  the  citizens  of  this  county  that  in  the  appointment  of 
that  committee  and  in  the  selection  of  its  chairman  you 
have  been  singularly  fortunate,  for  it  is  the  purpose  of 
that  committee  and  of  the  County  Board  to  build  this 
court  house  honestly  and  fairly,  so  that  the  people  shall 
have  in  it  one  hundred  cents  for  every  dollar  they  pay 
for  it. 

Plans  and  specifications  were  furnished  by  Mr.  Gad- 
dis,  of  Vincennes,  Indiana.  I  need  not  speak  of  these  plans 
for  they  have  been  so  universally  approved  that  the  wis- 
dom of  the  committee  in  adopting,  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
County  Board  in  approving  them,  stands  and  will  forever 
stand  before  the  people  of  this  county  unquestioned. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  August,  1895,  the  contract  was 
let  to  T.  J.  Morse  &  Son,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  for 
forty  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  in  interest  bearing 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  103 

county  warrants,  and  fifteen  hundred  dollars  subscribed 
by  citizens  of  Robinson,  the  building  to  be  completed  by 
August  1st,  1896. 

I  ought  perhaps  to  close  now,  but  I  want  to  call  your 
attention,  and  the  attention  of  each  man  and  of  each 
woman  present,  to  the  fact  that  this  is  not  a  Robinson 
court  house.  Though  you  may  live  in  the  farthest  cor- 
ner of  the  county  you  have  as  much  interest  in  this  build- 
ing as  the  man  who  lives  under  the  shadow  of  its  walls. 
I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  an  examination  of  the 
work  so  far  as  it  has  proceeded,  and  I  may  safely  chal- 
lenge any  criticism  against  the  County  Board,  or  its 
v  building  committee,  or  against  the  contractors  of  this 
work  so  far  as  it  has  gone.  The  old  court  house  was  ap- 
parently built  and  planned  without  any  artistic  taste  or 
mechanical  skill. 

In  the  advancing  state  of  civilization  we  build  for  a 
longer  time,  for  more  people,  and  with  greater  resources 
than  our  fathers  did  or  could  have  built. 

We  have  come  together  to-day  and  have  with  us 
apprentices,  crafts-men  and  master-workman  of  the  order 
in  whose  lodges  is  preserved,  that  knowledge  and  skill 
which  made  the  Temple  on  Mount  Moriah  the  glory  of 
Jerusalem  the  sacred  depository  of  the  law,  the  delight  of 
the  people,  the  pride  of  the  world.  They  have  this  day, 
so  far  as  the  work  has  progressed  tested  it  by  the  instru- 
ments of  their  craft  and  have  pronounced^  in  the  presence 
of  this  vast  audience,  that  the  foundations  are  level ;  that 
its  walls  are  plumb  and  the  work  square;  and  they  have 
pointed  out  the  moral  significance  of  the  level,  plumb 
and  square  aside  from  the  architectural  and  mechanical 
meaning  of  them. 

Now  what  of  the  future?  I  appeal  to  the  men  of 
the  county  to  know  what  is  the  future  of  this  building 
dedicated  to  justice ;  to  the  administration  of  the  law  and 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

to  the  public  use  of  the  people  of  this  county,  and  I  ask 
them  to  think  what  it  means. 

It  means  in  this  broad  land  of  ours,  where  liberty, 
bright,  holy  and  beloved  dwells  in  every  home,  that  it  is 
still  controlled  by  law;  that  the  law  is  the  corner-stone 
upon  which  all  things  do  and  must  rest.  That  the  law 
is  the  foundation  upon  which  we  and  all  of  our  rights  and 
interests  stand.  It  is  the  one  bulwark  around  and  about 
us,  protecting  us  from  oppression,  domestic  and  foreign; 
and  protecting  us  from  our  own  evil  passions  and  erratic 
judgements.  It  is  the  law  which  makes  us  all  secure.  It 
is  the  law  which  makes  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
so  sweet  and  holy  to  us,  and  gives  it  practical  application 
to  our  property  and  to  our  rights  and  liberty. 

Now  let  us  think;  let  each  man  think;  let  each  boy 
reflect  that  this  great  government  of  ours,  with  all  its 
holy  and  precious  rights  and  privileges,  is  constituted  of 
and  takes  character  from  the  acts  of  single  men,  and 
that  there  is  a  responsibility  resting  upon  every  man  to 
defend,  under  all  circumstances,  the  legal  rights  of  every 
other  man.  Let  us  all  feel  like  the  Swiss  soldier,  when 
he  broke  the  ranks  of  the  Austrian  army  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  his  own  life,  that  on  his  sole  aim  hangs  victory  and 
sucess. 

Fathers,  and  ye  venerable  men,  take  your  children 
into  your  confidence;  teach  them  the  sacredness  of  law; 
teach  them  that  it  was  our  country  that  first  brought 
down  the  stars  from  heaven  and  placed  them  upon  its 
flag  as  an  emblem  of  the  divine  origin  of  their  rights; 
teach  them  of  the  valorous  deeds  of  our  fathers,  and  to 
strive  in  all  things  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  irhis 
land  of  freedom,  and  that  in  this  land  there  is  no  progress 
without  conflict;  teach  them  that  there  is  nothing  worth 
having  that  they  must  not  battle  for.  I  know  not  how  it 
is,  but  I  know  when  I  trace  history  back  until  it  is  lost  in 
tradition  and  myth,  that  no  nation  or  people  ever  rose 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  105 

to  a  higher  plane  of  civilization  except  through  bloodshed 
and  strife. 

It  seems  strange,  but  he  who  sits  upon  the  throiie 
of  the  universe,  and  who  gives  the  law  to  all  people;  He 
whose  fingers  wrote  upon  tables  of  stone  the  Decalogue 
which  is  the  foundation  of  all  law,  does  order  that  man 
must  battle  and  strive  to  win  that  which  is  worth  having. 

Now,  in  the  hope  that  this  court  house  may  be  com- 
pleted as  auspiciously  as  it  has  begun, — that  no  murmur- 
ing may  arise  among  our  people  or  have  occasion  to  arise 
for  long  years  to  come,  when  my  head  shall  be  laid  low, 
when  the  brown  beards  of  the  young  men  who  witness 
this  ceremony  shall  become  gray,  that  this  court  house 
may  stand,  and  in  it,  and  on  its  bench  there  shall  be  men 
of  wisdom,  who  love  justice  and  right;  that  the  judge- 
ments rendered  shall  be  just,  and  that  at  its  bar  there 
shall  be  men  striving  for  that  which  is  right  and  best, 
and  who  shall  always  remember  that  a  lawyer  is  more  in 
the  public  eye  than  other  men;  and  that  he,  above  all 
other  men,  should  be  a  lover  and  keeper  of  the  law,  and, 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  a  gentleman. 

And  now,  Grand  Master,  fellow  craftsmen  and  cit- 
izens of  Crawford  county,  rejoicing  with  you  in  this  aus- 
picious beginning  and  hoping  for  an  ending  equally  suc- 
cessful, when  the  last  stone  is  placed,  the  stone  which  is 
neither  oblong  or  square,  but  the  keystone  of  the  arch; 
when  this  building  is  finished  and  furnished,  I  hope  to 
meet  you  again  and  assist  you  in  finally  dedicating  this 
building  to  the  administration  of  the  law,  to  justice,  and 
to  the  rights  and  business  of  the  people  of  this  county. 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 

DEDICATION  OF  COURT  HOUSE,  MAY  1,  1897 

Fellow  Citizens: — The  program  announces  "An  Ad- 
dress of  Welcome. ' '  Words  of  welcome  touch  the  chords 
of  sympathy  and  love,  from  which  arise  the  tenderest 
notes,  and  which  awaken  the  sweetest  strains  that  swell 
the  human  heart  with  joyful  memories  of  the  past,  lift 
the  shadows  of  sorrow  from  the  present  hour,  and  fill 
the  future  with  stars  of  hope. 

The  pleasant  duty  has  been  assigned  to  me  today,  of 
bidding  the  citizens  of  Crawford  county  welcome  to  the 
portals  of  this,  their  own,  Temple  of  Justice,  dedicated 
to  the  administration  of  the  law,  and  the  protection  of 
their  public  and  private  rights  and  liberties.  Also  to 
those  who  were  once  citizens  of  the  county,  but  who  have 
sought,  in  other  places,  a  field  of  labor,  and  who  have  re- 
turned today,  to  greet  old  friends,  renew  the  associa- 
tions of  other  years,  and  join  with  friends,  old  and  new, 
in  these  dedicatory  services.  Passing  beyond  these,  I 
am  commissioned  to  give  words  of  sincerest  welcome  to 
those  who  are  here  from  other  counties  and  other  states, 
to  testify  their  loyalty  to  the  law,  which  gives  every  man 
liberty,  and  commands  that  he  shall  so  use  the  gift  as  not 
to  infringe  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  others.  And,  if 
there  be  any  here  not  already  included,  I  most  earnestly 
say  to  them  also,  welcome.  And  to  all,  thrice  welcome 
here  today! 

On  laying  the  cornerstone  of  this  edifice,  I  gave  a 
history  of  the  court  houses  which  have  preceeded  it  in 
this  county.  If  you  will  refer  to  that,  you  will  find  that 
the  successive  court  houses  have  registered  the  mag- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  ID? 

nificent  progress  of  the  county  in  the  march  of  Christian 
civilization. 

In  music  there  is  a  keynote  to  which. all  other  notes 
are  bound  by  mystic  chords  of  melody,  and  around  which 
they  play,  and  into  which  they  intertwine  in  harmony. 
This  keynote  fixes  the  character  of  the  music,  and  deter- 
mines its  influence  upon  the  mind,  or  the  passions  of  the 
listener. 

In  painting,  there  is  a  tone  color,  into  which  every 
light  and  shadow  of  the  picture  must  blend  in  subordina- 
tion. This  tone  color  shines  out  through  all  others,  and 
in  it  you  read  the  character  of  the  artist,  and  fix  the  value 
of  his  artistic  production. 

The  houses  and  public  buildings  of  a  people  are  the 
keynotes  which  indicate  the  grade  of  culture,  and  the 
tone  of  public  spirit  existing  among  them.  Every  home 
into  which  the  spirit  of  the  beautiful  is  infused  is  a  rec- 
ord of  culture.  Every  new  public  building,  educational, 
legal  or  religious,  is  a  manifestation  of  the  public  char- 
acter and  enterprise  of  the  builders.  The  ear  of  the 
stranger  and  the  home  seeker  easily  catches  the  music; 
his  eye  readily  grasps  the  picture,  and  he  locates,  or 
passes  on,  as  he  is  pleased,  or  displeased  by  them. 

A  county  is  a  larger  individual,  consisting  of  the 
entire  aggregation  of  its  people.  It  has  its  personality 
and  character  as  distinctly  outlined  as  that  of  any  one 
of  its  citizens.  It  is  progressive  or  conservative,  careful 
or  negligent  of  its  property  and  other  interests.  There 
.  are  citizens  who  built  houses,  something  about  them  un- 
finished, or  permit  them  at  once  to  go  into  disrepair  and 
unsightliness. 

I  voice  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  Crawford  coun- 
ty in  saying  to  the  County  Board,  "You  have  done  well 
so  far.  You  have  constructed  for  use  a  safe,  substan- 
tial and  elegant  court  house,  and  in  doing  so,  you  have 
not  wasted  our  money.  Go  on  until  it  is  finished.  Leave 


108  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

nothing  in  or  about  it  incomplete.  Finish  and  then  pre- 
serve it  from  waste  and  from  every  kind  of  defacement 
or  injury." 

It  is  forty  years  now  since  I  was  enrolled  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  bar  in  this  county.  In  that  time  the  lawyers 
that  were  then  at  the  bar,  and  the  judges  that  were  then 
on  the  bench,  all  save  one,  have  passed  beyond  the  juris- 
diction of  the  tribunals  of  this  world.  Judge  James  C. 
Allen  alone  remains,  and  it  is  no  inconsiderable  part  of 
the  pleasure  of  this  occasion  that  he  is  here  today  to  res- 
pond to  what  I  am  saying.  He  is  no  stranger  in  Crawford 
county.  He  is  surrounded  by  hundreds  who  are  witnesses 
to  his  long  and  honorable  career  as  a  lawyer,  and  to 
his  virtues  and  worth  as  a  citizen  of  the  county  and  state. 

For  almost  fifty  years  I  have  been  your  fellow  citizen, 
and  have  participated  in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  I  have 
been,  and  am,  a  witness  of  its  progress,  and  the  improved 
condition  and  culture  of  its  people.  I  have  shared  largely 
in  your  confidence,  and  owe  whatever  of  success  I  have 
achieved  to  your  favor.  The  shadows  of  life  are  length- 
ening behind  me.  I  am  soon  to  surrender  my  place  at 
the  bar  to  the  stalwart  young  men  who  now  constitute 
the  bar  of  Crawford  county.  I  congratulate  them  upon 
the  favorable  conditions  that  surround  them,  and  the 
honors  and  successes  which  lie  before  them. 

I  congratulate  the  people  of  the  county  on  the  fact 
that  their  legal  business  in  the  future,  will  be  in  the  hands 
of  men  of  such  ability  and  professional  integrity. 

I  again  bid  you  all  welcome,  and  indulge  the  hope 
that  each  may  go  away  impressed  with  love  for,  and  loy- 
alty to,  law  and  order;  and  justly  proud  of  the  progress 
of  your  county  in  such  things  as  tend  to  the  happiness 
of  its  people. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  109 


ON  LAYING  THE  CORNERSTONE  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

ROBINSON,  ILLINOIS,  SEPTEMBER  2,  1899 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  an  organization 
of  people  who  believe  in  God,  and  serve  and  worship  Him 
tinder  forms  and  with  ceremonials  which  they  believe 
to  be  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  Charter  held  by 
the  universal  Christian  church  in  the  world.  It  recog- 
nizes as  belonging  to  the  universal  Christian  church 
members  of  all  communions  and  organizations  which 
accept  the  philosophy  of  life  embraced  in  the  words  of 
Christ.  Its  accepted  mission  is  the  affirmation  of  the 
faith  and  practice  of  the  Christian  religion  in  accordance 
with  certain  standards.  While  it  is  aggressive  against 
wrong,  and  zealous  in  building  its  own  walls,  it  does  not, 
and  none  of  its  members  or  agencies  should  antagonize 
or  discourage  any  work  of  other  religious  organizations 
or  communions,  who,  under  other  forms,  with  other  cer- 
emonials and  in  the  use  of  other  instrumentalities,  are 
co-laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  a  common  Lord  and  Master. 
It  is  high  time  that  the  cry  of  the  heretic,  as  between 
those  who,  under  any  form,  bear  the  standard  of  faith 
in  the  founder  of  Christianity  should  be  hushed  into  a 
silence  so  profound  that  it  shall  never  be  broken. 

In  all  things  that  are  believed  to  be  mandatory,  the 
Methodist  church  is  intensely  conservative.  In  its  whole 
history  it  has,  and  still  does,  "contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  In  such  things  as 
are  believed  to  be  directory  or  expedient  only,  it  is  care- 
fully and  judiciously  progressive.  Yielding  to  the  prin- 


110  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

ciple  of  equality  it  conforms  its  policy  to  the  represen- 
tative features  of  the  civil  government  of  the  country. 
It  now  grants  to  its  lay  members  representation  in  its 
highest  councils  in  equal  numbers  and  on  equal  terms 
with  its  clergy. 

Mr.  Wesley  proclaimed  that  the  world  was  his  par- 
ish. The  church  has  not,  and  does  not  intend  to  abandon 
the  parish.  In  its  methodical  way  it  has  covered  the 
civilized  world  with  its  circuits  and  stations.  Its  mis- 
sionaries are  whispering  into  the  ears  of  barbarous  na- 
tions, and  of  savage  tribes,  the  ever  new  story  of  Divine 
love  and  eternal  life  contained  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
The  Methodist  church  is  a  pioneer  in  all  lands,  softening 
the  hardships  of  frontier  life  with  the  hope  and  consol- 
ation which  religion  alone  can  bring  to  the  care  bur- 
dened hearts  of  men.  Before  the  school  house  was  built 
it  erected  its  altars  in  the  cabin  homes  of  the  early  set- 
tlers. Later  the  school  houses  became  the  sanctuaries, 
and  the  forest  groves  the  temples  in  which  its  greater 
assemblies  were  held. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  while  the  advance 
guard  of  civilization  pressed  its  way  from  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee  and  Kentucky  northward  along  the 
banks  of  the  Wabash,  the  Methodist  itinerant  with  his 
faithful  horse,  and  his  saddle  bags  of  wholesome  books, 
if  he  did  not  head  the  column  camped  close  on  its  rear, 
and  he  was  then,  and  his  successors  since  then  have  been 
and  still  are,  important  factors  in  the  moral,  mental, 
material  and  religious  progress  which  characterizes  the 
citizenship  of  this  valley. 

One  of  the  pioneer  preachers  who  deserves  epecial 
mention  in  this  connection  was  James  McCord.  His 
name  and  memory  should  in  some  appropriate  manner 
be  perpetuated  by  the  Methodists  of  Crawford  county. 
For  many  years,  probably  a  third  of  a  century  he  was  a 
welcome  visitor  and  his  name  was  a  household  word  in 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  111 

the  homes  of  the  county.  Like  St.  Paul,  he  earned  his 
bread  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands  during  six  days  of 
the  week.  On  the  Sabbath  day,  in  some  family  home, 
in  some  school  house  or  grove,  or  in  some  primitive  tern- 
pie  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God,  he  taught  the  people 
and  urged  them  to  accept  and  practice  the  Divine  pre- 
cepts given  to  the  world  by  the  Galilean  carpenter.  He 
rests  from  his  labor  in  the  cemetery  at  Wesley  Chapel,  but 
his  works  do  follow  him  for  good,  even  unto  this  day. 

When  in  1843  the  county  seat  was  located  at  Robin- 
son the  Methodist  church  planted  its  standard  here,  and 
assumed  its  share  of  responsibility  for  the  moral  and 
religious  state  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  future  city.  The 
exact  date  and  by  whose  hand  is  not  definitely  known, 
but  it  is  known  that  while  the  sound  of  the  hammer  and 
saw  were  still  heard  on  week  days  in  the  work  of  con- 
struction, they  were  supplanted  by  the  Methodist  hymns 
and  sermons  on  the  Sabbath  day. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  the  Methodists  of  Rob- 
inson had  no  house  of  their  own.  Private  houses,  the 
school  house  and  the  court  house  served  by  turns  as  a 
place  of  worship.  What  is  now  called  ' '  the  old  church ' ' 
standing  near  the  corner  stone  we  now  lay,  was  built  in 
1866.  It  was  the  centenary  offering  of  the  Methodists 
in  Robinson  to  the  progress  of  their  branch  of  the  uni- 
versal Christian  church  in  America.  In  the  erection 
of  that  building  was  demonstrated  the  wide  influence  of 
the  church  over  those  not  of  its  own  communion  and  their 
friendship  for  its  mission  and  work  in  the  world.  Such 
was  the  liberality  of  the  citizens  of  the  then  small  village 
of  Robinson  that  it  seemed  almost  selfish  to  call  it  an  ex- 
clusively Methodist  church.  We  rejoice  that  the  same 
manifestations  of  friendship  and  friendly  co-operation 
exist  today,  and  that  we  are  surrounded  by  so  many 
citizens  and  members  of  other  Christian  families  who  re- 


112  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


joice  with  us  and  earnestly  pray  for  our  success  in  this 
undertaking. 

Since  the  dedication  of  "the  old  church"  thirty- 
three  years  have  flown  by  and  are  now  lost  in  the  fathom- 
less abyss  of  the  past.  The  membership  of  the  church 
has  so  increased;  the  Sunday  School  has  so  grown;  the 
Epworth  League  and  other  societies  auxiliary  to  the 
church  have  come  into  existence  demanding  room,  that 
in  the  judgment  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
church  another  building  of  greater  size,  with  improved 
facilities  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  church  was  re- 
quired. The  policy  of  our  church  is  such  that  the  judg-' 
ment  of  the  majority  is  the  legal  judgment  of  all.  In 
pursuance  of  such  legal  judgment  the  foundations  of 
this  new  church  edifice  have  been  laid  broader  and  deep- 
er than  the  foundations  of  its  predecessor.  The  laying  of 
this  cornerstone  above  the  permanent  foundations  upon 
which  the  finished  edifice  is  to  stand  is  purely  ceremon- 
ial. It  is  a  formal  approval  of  what  has  preceded  it.  It 
is  a  visible,  material,  concrete  expression  of  the  purpose 
of  the  builders.  It  is  not  expected  that  the  contents  of 
the  sealed  box  which  we  now  place  within  the  unrelax- 
ing  grasp  of  this  stone  will  ever  again  come  within  range 
of  human  vision.  Yet  in  the  years  that  may  be  measured 
to  us  by  the  hand  of  time,  our  thoughts  will  penetrate  the 
dark  recess  wherein  they  lie;  memory  will  recall  this 
occasion,  and  we  shall  read  upon  its  tablets  the  thoughts 
and  impressions  which  occupy  our  minds  and  move  our 
hearts  today. 

I  am  not  a  dreamer.  I  am  not  looking  for  the  dawn 
of  days  of  a  kind  other  or  different  from  the  days  in 
which  I  have  lived.  I  am  not  expecting  the  appearance 
of  a  new  heaven  or  a  new  earth.  I  am  not  gazing  upward 
or  outward  for  the  dawning  light  of  a  real  or  fancied  mil- 
lenium.  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the  permanency  of  the 
works  of  God  and  the  reasonableness  of  His  government 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  113 

of  the  world.  In  this  belief  I  join  in  this  ceremonial  and 
the  building  of  this  church.  In  the  work  that  shall  be 
done  here  in  future  years — in  the  light  that  shall  go  out 
from  this  sanctuary  of  religion  to  illuminate  and  bless — 
in  the  benificent  work  of  the  church  that  is  to  have  its 
home  here — I  have  an  abiding  faith,  and  an  exalting  hope 
and  an  unshaken  confidence. 

I  have  no  doubt  or  fear  as  to  the  future  of  the  church 
or  the  Christian  religion.  They  are  safe  in  the  hands  of 
their  Divine  author.  To  the  universal  Christian  church 
built  upon  the  eternal  foundations  of  truth  and  justice, 
overshadowed  by  righteousness  and  mercy,  illuminated 
by  Divine  love,  shall  stand  during  all  time.  The  rains 
may  fall ;  the  floods  may  come ;  the  winds  may  blow  and 
beat  upon  it,  the  gates  of  hell  may  be  opened  against  it, 
and  all  the  artillery  of  evil  be  turned  loose  upon  its 
battlements.  None  of  these  shall  prevail.  The  church 
will  increase  until  its  empire  becomes  universal,  and 
the  will  of  Him  who  made  the  worlds  shall  find  the  same 
obedience  on  earth  as  in  heaven. 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ADDRESS  ON  STATUTORY  REVISION 

ILLINOIS  STATE  BAR  ASSOCIATION.  JANUARY  25,  1894 

ME.  PRESIDENT: 

The  subject  of  statutory  revision  is  too  large  for  a 
single  paper.  A  cursory  view  is  all  that  can  be  taken. 
If  the  few  features  and  illustrations  of  the  question  that 
I  shall  present,  serve  to  elicit  further  discussion,  or  even 
to  provoke  criticism,  I  shall  be  rewarded  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  paper. 

The  State  of  Illinois  adopted  the  common  law  in  the 
beginning,  and  then  began  drifting  toward  a  code ;  and  it 
is'  still  drifting.  The  code,  so  far  as  it  has  been  con- 
structed, is  embraced  in  Mr.  Kurd's  revision  of  1893.  It 
has  been  growing  in  size,  and  in  the  diversity  of  the  sub- 
jects with  which  it  deals,  ever  since  the  year  1818.  Its 
growth  is  unlike  the  growth  of  anything  in  nature — it  is 
perpetual,  yet  subject  to  perpetual  waste  and  destruc- 
tion. It  lives  and  dies  at  the  same  moment.  It  grows  at 
irregular  and  uncertain  periods,  and  its  growths  attach 
themselves  to  the  living  body  of  existing  law,  without 
equality  of  distribution,  and  uncontrolled  by  any  law  of 
symmetry  or  artistic  beauty.  It  dies  by  piecemeal,  and 
the  dead  parcels  often  remain  and  seem  to  live,  until  the 
Supreme  Court,  acting  as  legal  coroner,  finds  them  dead 
and  gives  the  cause  of  death ;  or  a  committee  on  statutory 
revision  brushes  them  off  and  consigns  them  to  the  abyss 
of  oblivion. 

We  have  been  walking  side  by  side  with  the  law, 
overshadowed  by  its  beneficent  protection,  yet  within 
easy  reach  of  the  arm  with  which  it  punishes  disobedi- 
ence, and  under  the  influence  of  a  wholesome  fear  of  its 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  115 

power  ever  since  we  were  born;  and  we  follow  the  same 
paths  in  which  our  fathers  walked  before  us.  We  have 
become  so  familiar  with  the  forms  and  functions  of  the 
law — with  its  changing  shapes  and  its  capricious  and 
uncertain  manifestations,  its  curious  and  irregular 
growth  and  decay,  its  listless  torpor,  when  quiescent,  and 
its  terrible  activity  when  aroused;  its  incongruities  and 
inconsistencies  in  practice;  its  beauty  and  deformity;  its 
strength  and  weakness,  that  we  are  loth  to  disturb  them, 
even  when  disturbance  and  change  are  laden  with  the 
opening  bud,  the  fragrant  flower  and  the  rich  fruitage  of 
genuine  reform. 

The  mystic  spell  -of  that  which  is,  is  over  us  all.  Its 
conservative  power  is  incalculable.  It  stops  investiga- 
tion, condems  doubt  and  commands  thought  to  be  still. 
Let  the  mystic  spell  be  broken.  Let  doubt  assert  its 
power  to  provoke  the  forces  of  reason  into  activity.  Let 
thought  give  foot  and  wing  to  investigation.  Give  free 
course  and  rein  to  every  faculty  that  would  question  that 
which  is.  Then  endless  mazes  of  curious  questioning  and 
doubt  will  invitingly  open  up  before  the  inquirer. 
Thought  and  memory  thus  set  free,  turn  into  the  mazes 
so  opened,  and  wander  far  and  wide.  They  linger  long  in 
legislative  halls  when  the  State  was  young,  and  curious- 
ly inquire  whether  the  laws  then  made  were  really  writ- 
ten by  the  statesmen  of  that  day,  or  were  they  scissored 
from  the  Jaws  of  England  and  the  codes  of  the  older  States 
of  the  Union,  and  set  into  our  code  on  the  same  principle 
that  a  woman  constructs  a  crazy  quilt.- They  scan  the  his- 
tory and  character  of  the  early  law  makers  with  closest 
scrutiny,  in  search  of  the  luminous  intellect  that  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  order  and  arrangement,  which  set 
the  chapters  of  the  law  in  the  statute  book  in  the  alpha- 
betical order  of  the  titles  which  chance,  accident  or  de- 
sign gave  them. 


116  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

" Abatement"  is  chapter  one,  because  it  begins  with 
"A"  and  for  no  other  reason  whatever.  Every  one  of  its 
twenty-six  sections  relates  entirely  to  practice  in  civil  ac- 
tions. Section  23  of  chapter  110  of  Hurd's  revision  is  of 
later  date,  and  so  changes  the  rule  in  regard  to  amend- 
ments, and  the  remedy  in  cases  of  misjoinder  or  non-join- 
der of  proper  parties,  that  only  a  small  part  of  chapter  1 
remains  of  any  practical  use.  The  fragment  that  re- 
mains should  be  placed  in  the  practice  act  where  the 
whole  originally  belonged. 

Chapter  7,  entitled  "  Amendments  and  Jeofails,"  is 
another  alphabetical  exotic — an  isolated  fragment  of  the 
practice  act  rounded  into  a  chapter  and  thrust  in  be- 
tween "Aliens"  and  " Animals,"  far  removed  from  any 
other  subject  with  which  it  has  any  legal  or  logical  con- 
nection. It  has  been  materially  modified  by  amendments 
to  the  practice  act,  and  considerable  portions  of  it  re- 
pealed by  necessary  implication.  A  proper  revision  will 
strip  it  of  its  dead  parts  and  transplant  what  remains  to 
its  proper  place  in  the  practice  act. 

The  provisions  of  the  statute  for  taking  bail  in  civil 
actions,  and  processes  of  attachment  and  garnishment, 
and  the  statute  in  relation  to  arbitrations  and  awards,  are 
purely  practical,  and  naturally  belong  in  the  chapter  reg- 
ulating practice  in  civil  actions.  Instead  of  being  so 
placed,  they  have  been  constructed  into  fragmentary 
chapters,  and  tossed  into  the  statute  book  by  the  chances 
of  the  alphabet,  regardless  of  the  subjects  with  which 
they  are  connected,  or  from  which  they  are  disconnected. 

" Animals"  and  "Fences"  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
straining them,  and  limiting  their  wanderings,  have  a 
natural,  necessary  and  inseparable  connection  each  with 
the  other.  The  alphabet  puts  "Animals"  in  chapter  8, 
and  "Fences"  in  chapter  54;  and  save  for  judicial  con- 
struction, they  would  be  total  strangers  and  in  irreconcil- 
able conflict. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  lit 

The  common  law  of  England,  so  far  as  the  same  was 
applicable  and  of  a  general  nature,  and  all  statutes  of  the 
British  Parliament  in  aid  thereof,  and  to  supply  the  de- 
fects of  the  common  law,  which  were  of  a  general  nature 
and  not  local  to  that  kingdom,  were  adopted  in  Illinois, 
to  remain  in  full  force  till  repealed  by  legislative  au- 
thority. 

The  common  law  did  not  require  the  owner  of  land 
to  inclose  it  with  a  fence  to  protect  his  crops  from  the 
animals  of  his  neighbors,  but  required  the  owner  of  ani- 
mals to  restrain  them  on  his  own  premises  at  his  peril. 
It  held  the  owner  liable  for  all  damages  done  by  his  ani- 
mals on  the  premises  of  another,  even  though  the  prem- 
ises were  uninclosed.  The  Illinois  legislature,  without 
repealing  the  common  law,  assumed  that  this  require- 
ment was  local  to  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and  not 
"applicable"  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  passed  laws 
requiring  the  owner  of  land  to  surround  it  "with  a  good 
and  sufficient  fence. ' '  The  statute  further  provided  that 
the  owner  of  animals  should  only  be  liable  for  damages 
when  his  animals  should  break  into  an  inclosure  sur- 
rounded "with  a  good  and  sufficient  fence."  Very  com- 
prehensive and  exact  provisions  were  made  for  the  com- 
struction  and  maintenance  of  division  fences,  at  the  joint 
and  equal  expense  of  the  proprietors  of  adjoining  lands. 
All  these  statutes  still  remain  on  the  statute  book  with 
every  semblance  of  life  and  authority,  though  the  most 
of  them  have  been  dead  since  1874.  The  legislative  as- 
sumption that  the  common  law  in  relation  to  "animals" 
and  "fences"  did  not  prevail  in  Illinois,  was  sustained 
by  the  Supreme  Court  in  Seely  v.  Peters,  5  Gilm.  130. 

An  act  of  the  legislature  approved  January  13,  1872, 
was  the  foundation  of  the  present  chapter  on  "Animals." 
That  act  provided  that  it  should  be  unlawful  for  the  own- 
ers of  any  domestic  animals  to  suffer  such  animals  to  run 
at  large,  except  as  thereafter  provided.  In  the  revision 


118  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

of  1874,  this  act  was  re- written  and  enlarged  with  pro- 
visions for  holding  elections  in  counties,  towns,  cities, 
villages  and  incorporated  towns,  on  the  question  of  ani- 
mals running  at  large.  Sections  20  and  21,  in  the  chapter 
on  ''Fences,"  related  to  damages  by  trespassing  animals, 
and  the  right  of  the  party  trespassed  upon  to  arrest  and 
detain  them.  In  the  revision  of  1874,  these  two  sections 
were  amended.  Section  20  by  adding  the  words  "this 
section  shall  not  be  construed  to  require  such  fence  in  or- 
der to  maintain  an  action  for  injuries  done  by  animals 
running  at  large  contrary  to  law."  Section  21  had  in- 
serted in  it  the  words  "or  shall  be  wrongfully  on  the 
premises  of  another. ' '  Both  sections  retained  the  ' '  good 
and  sufficient  fence, ' '  without  the  disturbance  of  a  rail,  a 
post  or  a  wire.  Every  provision  in  regard  to  the  con- 
struction of  fences  was  carefully  preserved,  and  the  con- 
fusion between  "Animals"  and  "Fences"  was  increased. 

By  an  act  approved  June  16,  1891,  animals  were  ab- 
solutely prohibited  from  running  "at  laige  within  the 
corporate  limits  of  any  incorporated  city,  village  o|r 
town."  The  law  of  1874  providing  for  elections  in  "in- 
corporated cities,  villages  or  towns"  on  the  question  of 
animals  running  at  large,  remained  untouched,  and  the 
municipal  authorities  continued  "to  regulate,  restrain 
and  prohibit"  the  running  at  large  of  animals  within 
their  incorporated  limits,  by  ordinances  that  had  no  more 
life  than  the  veriest  clod  beneath  our  feet.  In  the  revi- 
sion now  in  use,  this  act  of  1891  has  found  a  curious  set- 
ting, namely,  in  the  chapter  in  relation  to  '  *  cities  and  vil- 
lages." Its  normal  position  was  in  the  chapter  on  "Ani- 
mals. ' ' 

It  also  occasions  no  surprise  that  laymen,  lawyers, 
and  courts  were  in  doubt  as  to  the  effect  of  the  legislation 
of  1872  and  1874.  Domestic  animals  continued  to  be  pub- 
lic marauders,  and  the  citizen  went  on  building  fences  to 
protect  the  product  of  his  labor  in  obedience  to  statutes 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  119 

that  seemed  to  live,  but  which  had  been  dead  since  1874, 
according  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  Bulpit  v.  Matthews, 
145  111.  345.  In  these  nineteen  years  of  uncertainty  and 
doubt  as  to  whether  the  rule  in  Seely  v.  Peters,  or  the 
rule  in  Bulpit  v.  Matthews  was  the  law,  the  cost  to  the 
people  of  building  fences  to  restrain  animals  already  re- 
strained by  law  was  enormous.  All  this  might  have  been 
avoided  by  pruning  the  old  statute  of  its  dead  parts,  and 
giving  a  clear  expression  of  the  legislative  will. 

I  most  respectfully  inquire  whether  any  good  and 
sufficient  reason  can  be  given  why  these  chapters,  in  the 
light  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  should  not  be 
re-written  in  language  so  plain  as  to  banish  all  doubt  as 
to  their  meaning,  and  then  so  grouped  in  the  statute  book 
as  to  show  their  intimate  relation  to  each  other. 

Statutes  are  often  copied  from  the  codes  of  other 
states  or  countries,  and  it  sometimes  happens  that  such 
transplantings  do  not  fit  their  new  setting.  They  may 
contain  some  provision  of  local  application  utterly  sense- 
less and  wholly  unmeaning  in  their  new  situation.  An  in- 
stance of  this  is  found  in  section  8  of  the  Conveyance 
Act.  This  section  was  originally  part  of  a  Recording  Act 
of  the  British  Parliament,  passed  about  1707.  With  a  litlte 
pruning  it  was  made  an  inset  of  the  Pennsylvania  code  in 
1715,  in  Ohio  in  1795,  in  Indiana  in  1807,  and  in  Illinois 
in  1819.  In  all  its  migrations  and  changes  it  carried  the 
following  proviso:  "Provided,  always,  that  this  law 
shall  not  extend  to  leases  at  rack  rent,  or  leases  not  ex- 
ceeding one  and  twenty  years,  where  the  actual  posses- 
sion goes  with  the  lease."  It  is  said  that  this  provision 
had  an  application  to  certain  titles  in  the  county  of  York, 
England,  at  the  time  it  was  passed.  It  never  had  any 
meaning  in  America.  Mr.  Kawle  has  well  said,  that  it 
was  awkwardly  introduced  into  the  English  statute,  and 
had  no  particular  connection  with  the  section  to  which  it 
was  attached,  and  would  be  insensible  if  it  had.  Yet  this 


.120  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

awkward  and  insensible  provision  has  been  preserved 
in  the  United  States  for  a  century  and  three-quarters,  ap- 
parently for  no  other  reason  than  that  it  was  a  relic  of 
legal  antiquity,  and  because  those  who  had  made  and  re- 
vised the  laws, had  been  so  much  under  the  spell  of  con- 
servatism that  they  feared  to  lay  it  away  with  the  rub- 
bish of  the  ages. 

It  would  be  a  reasonable  presumption  that  all  the 
law  in  regard. to  the  execution  of  wills  would  be  found  in 
"An  act  in  regard  to  wills."  Section  17  of  that  act  pro- 
vides that  "no  will,  testament  or  codicil  shall  be  revoked 
otherwise  than  by  burning,  cancelling,  tearing  or  obliter- 
ating the  same  by  the  testator  himself,  or  in  his  presence, 
by  his  direction  and  consent,  or  by  some  other  will,  testa- 
ment or  codicil;  and  no  words  spoken  shall  revoke  any 
will,  testament  or  codicil  in  writing,  executed  as  afore- 
said in  due  form  of  law. ' '  This  enumeration  of  the  meth- 
ods by  which  a  will  may  be  revoked,  appears  to  be  ex- 
haustive and  to  exclude  all  other  methods ;  but  a  will  may 
be  otherwise  revoked,  and  that,  too,  by  an  express  statu- 
tory provision.  Section  10  of  chapter  39,  in  relation  to 
"Descents,"  provides,  that  the  birth  of  a  child  shall  not 
revoke  a  will,  but  the  legacies  in  the  will  shall  be  abated 
in  equal  proportions,  to  raise  a  portion  for  such  after- 
born  child,  and  then  abruptly  terminates  as  follows: 
"And  a  marriage  shall  be  deemed  a  revocation  of  a  prior 
will."  This  provision  for  the  revocation  of  a  will  natur- 
ally belongs  in  section  17  of  the  chapter  on  wills.  One 
purpose  of  a  revision  of  the  laws  should  be,  to  take  up 
such  disconnected,  out  of  place  fragments  as  this,  and 
place  them  in  the  statute-book  properly. 

The  subject  of  appeals  from  inferior  to  superior 
courts  presents  an  interesting  argument  in  favor  of  revi- 
sion. The  County  Court  is  very  properly  growing  in  im- 
portance and  usefulness;  but  its  judgments  are  not  in- 
fallible, and  dissatisfied  parties  often  desire  to  appeal 


ETHEUBERT  CALLAHAN  121 

from  them.  To  what  court  shall  the  appeal  go,  is  at  times 
a  serious  question.  Paragraphs  212  and  213  of  chapter 
37  provide,  that  "appeals  and  writs  of  error  may  be 
taken  and  prosecuted  from  the  final  orders,  judgments 
and  decree's  of  the  County  Court,  to  the  Supreme  Court 
ior  Appellate  Court,  in  proceedings  for  the  confirmation 
of  special  assessments,  in  proceedings  for  the  sale  of  land 
for  taxes  and  special  assessments,  and  in  all  common  law 
and  attachment  cases  and  cases  of  forcible  entry  and 
forcible  entry  and  detainer.^  In  all  other  cases  ''appeals 
may  be  taken  from  the  final  orders,  judgments  and  de- 
crees of  the  County  Courts  to  the  Circuit  Courts;  upon 
'such  appeal  the  case  shall  be  tried  de  novo." 

In  the  act  to  establish  Probate  Courts,  ' '  proceedings 
on  the  application  of  executors,  administrators,  guard- 
ians and  conservators  for  the  sale  of  real  estate,"  are  ex- 
pressly excepted  from  the  cases  that  may  be  taken  by 
appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court;  and  it  is  provided  that  they 
shall  go  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Appellate  Court  is 
not  mentioned. 

Paragraph  133  of  chapter  3,  "An  Act  in  Regard  to 
the  Administration  of  Estates,"  which  includes  the  sale 
of  lands  to  pay  debts,  is  as  follows:  "Appeals  shall  be 
allowed  from  all  judgments,  orders  or  decrees  of  the 
.County  Court  in  all  matters  arising  under  this  act,  to 
the  Circuit  Court,  in  favor  of  any  person  who  may  con- 
sider himself  aggrieved  by  any  judgment,  order  or  de- 
cree of  such  court,  and  from  the  Circuit  Court  to  the  Su- 
preme Court,  as  in  other  ca'ses." 

Paragraph  68  of  the  same  chapter  provides  for  ap- 
peals from  the  County  Court  to  the  Circuit  Court  "in  all 
cases  of  the  allowance  or  rejection  of  claims  by  the 
court." 

Chapter  64  is  "An  Act  in  Regard  to  Guardians  and 
wards,"  and  authorizes  the  sale  of  lands  by  guardians 
under  an  order  of  the  County  Court.  Section  43  of  this 


X22 


chapter  provides  that,  " appeals  shall  be  allowed  to  the 
Circuit  Court  from  any  order  or  judgment  made  or  rend- 
ered under  this  act. ' ' 

Chapter  86  is  "An  Act  to  Revise  the  Law  in  Relation, 
to  Idiots,  Lunatics  and  Spendthrifts,"  and  authorizes  the 
sale  of  land  by  conservators  under  an  order  or  decree 
of  the  County  Court.  Section  40  of  this  chapter  provides; 
that  "appeals  shall  be  allowed  to  the  Circuit  Court  from 
any  order  or  judgment  made  or  rendered  under  this  act.'r 

In  trials  of  the  right  of  property  in  the  County  Court, 
the  appeal  is  to  the  Circuit  Court  "as  in  other  cases." 
What  other  cases  ? 

In  section  17  of  chapter  91  it  is  provided  that,  "upon 
conviction  of  either  of  the  offenses  mentioned  in  this 
act, ' '  either  party  may  appeal  in  the  same  time  and  man 
ner  as  appeals  may  be  taken  in  other  cases,  except  that 
where  an  appeal  is  prayed  on  behalf  of  the  people  no  ap- 
peal bond  shall  be  required. ' '  Again  comes  the  question, 
what  other  cases  ?  It  may  be  noticed  in  passing,  that  the 
provision  for  an  appeal  by  the  people,  and  a  like  provi- 
sion in  section  14  of  chapter  56,  are  unconstitutional. 
People  vs.  Miner,  144  111.  308.  • 

Section  8  of  the  act  creating  the  Appellate  Court 
gives  that  court  "  jurisdiction  of  all  matters  of  appeals 
and  writs  of  error  from  the  final  judgments,  orders  and 
decrees  of  County  Courts  in  any  suit  or  proceeding  at 
law  or  in  chancery  other  than  criminal  cases,  not  misde- 
meanors, and  cases  involving  a  franchise,  a  freehold  or 
the  validity  of  a  statue." 

Section  88  of  chapter  110  provides  that,  "appeals 
from  and  writs  of  error  to  County  Courts  in  all  criminal 
cases  below  the  grade  of  felony,  shall  be  taken  directly  to 
the  Appellate  Court,"  and  that  "cases  in  which  the  con- 
struction of  the  constitution  is  involved,"  and  "cases  re- 
lating to  the  revenue,  or  in  which  the  State  is  interested 
as  a  party  or  otherwise, "  "  shall  be  taken  directly  to  the 


ETHEL^ERT  CALLAHAN  123 

'Supreme  Court."  The  act  creating  the  Appellate  Court 
'gives  it  jurisdiction  over  the  class  of  cases  last  enumer- 
ated. 

The  County  Court  has  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  act- 
tions  of  bastardy.  No  provision  is  made  in  the  bastardy 
act  for  an  appeal  from  the  County  Court  to  any  other 
'court.  If  the  right  exists  it  must  be  found  in  some  of  the 
provisions  hereinbefore  referred  to.  The  profession 
generally  stumbled  upon  an  appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court 
and  a  trial  de  novo.  The  defendant  got  "the  benefit  of 
the  verdict  of  two  juries." 

The  Supreme  Court,  }>y  reading  the  8th  section  of 
the  act  creating  the  Appellate  Court,  and  section  88  of 
the  practice  act  together,  in  Lee  vs.  People,  140  111.  536, 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  appeal  is  to  the  Appellate 
Court.  This  conclusion  of  the  Supreme  Court  brought 
grief  to  the  hearts  of  many  putative  fathers  whose  cases 
^ere  pending  on  appeal  in  the  Circuit  Courts. 

The  8th  section  of  the  act  creating  the  Appellate 
Court  provides  that  **  appeals  and  writs  of  error  shall  lie 
from  the  final  orders,  judgments  and  decrees  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Courts  and  city  courts,  and  from  the  Superior 
Court  of  Cook  County  directly  to  the  Supreme  Court 
in  all  criminal  cases,  and  in  cases  involving  a  franchise 
or  freehold,  or  the  validity  of  a  statute.*'  The  same  sec- 
tion provides  that  the  Appellate  Court  shall  have  juris- 
diction  in  all  "criminal  cases  not  misdemeanors. >J 

In  the  88th  section  of  the  practice  act,  it  is  provided 
that  appeals  and  writs  of  error  * '  in  all  criminal  cases  be- 
low the  grade  of  a  felony,  shall  be  taken  directly  to  the 
Appellate  Court." 

In  section  8,  that  appeals  and  writs  of  error  "in  any 
suit  or  proceeding  at  law  or  in  chancery, '  *.  other  than  in 
cases  involving  "a  franchise  or  freehold,  or  the  validity 
of  a  statute,'*  lie  to  the  Appellate  Court.  In  section  88, 
the  exceptions  are,  "cases  in  which  a  franchise  or  free- 


124  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

hold,  or  the  validity  of  a  statute  or  construction  of  the 
constitution,  and  all  cases  relating  to  the  revenue,  or  in 
which  the  State  is  interested  as  a  party  or  otherwise."" 

The  first  two  sections  of  the  practice  act  serve  as  il- 
lustrations of  clumsiness  of  expression  long  preserved. 
Twenty-seven  words  may  be  erased  from  the  first  section 
without  changing  the  meaning  to  the  extent  of  a  shadow. 
The  second  section  begins  with  an  awkward  negation  and 
runs  into  an  exception  that  is  equally  infelicitous,  How 
much  clearer  would  be  a  section  like  this: 

Transitory  actions  shall  be  brought  in  any  county 
where  the  defendant  or  defendants,  or  some  one  of  them, 
reside  or  may  be  found. 

Local  actions  shall  be  brought  in  any  county  where 
the  subject-matter  of  the  action,  or  some  part  thereof,  is 
situated. 

These  illustrations  might  be  multiplied  indefintely, 
but  time  and  space  forbid.  What  I  have  given  are  suf- 
ficient to  satisfy  those  who  are  willing  to  be  satisfied, 
that  a  thorough  revision  of  the  statutes,  and  some  provi- 
sion for  constant  revision  thereafter,  is  now  a  public  ne- 
cessity. 

A  revision  of  the  statutes  once  in  twenty  years  is  the 
story  of  the  Augean  stables  over  again.  It  is  futile  ef- 
fort to  purge  the  statute  of  its  dead  members  and  parts 
of  members,  of  its  accumulated  contradictions,  repeti- 
tions, rubbish  and  waste,  in  a  single  day.  As  in  the  olden 
time,  it  brings  controversy,  strife,  and  the  inevitable  war- 
fare that  conservatism  ever  wages  against  progress.  And 
when  such  a  revision  is  complete,  it  must,  in  the  very  na- 
ture of  things,  be  imperfect  and  unsatisfactory. 

,  The  process  of  cutting  away  that  which  is  dead  or 
obselete,  will  have  left  its  scars.  But  neither  the  dead  nor 
the  obsolete  will  be  wholly  removed.  Large  portions  of 
both  are  carried  along  through  successive  revisions  simp- 
ly because  they  are  old.  They  are  allowed  to  stand  as 


CALLAHAN  125 


jdumb  monuments  to  the  dead  past.  One  of  our  greatest 
literary  men  has  said:  "Stop  and  think  and  you  will  be 
startled  to  think  what  slaves  we  are  to  by-gone  times  — 
to  death.  We  live  in  dead  men's  houses.  A  dead  man 
sits  on  all  our  judgment  seats,  and  living  judges  do  but 
search  out  and  repeat  his  decisions.  We  read  in  dead 
men's  books,  we  laugh  at  dead  men's  jokes,  and  cry  at 
dead  men's  pathos.  We  are  sick  of  dead  men's  diseases, 
and  die  of  the  same  remedies  with  which  dead  doctors 
killed  their  patients.  We  worship  the  living  Deity  ac- 
cording to  dead  men's  forms  and  creeds.  Whatever  we 
seek  to  do  of  OUT  own  free  motion,  a  dead  man's  hand  ob- 
structs us;  and  we  must  be  dead  ourselves  before  we  can 
liave  our  proper  influence  on  our  world,  which  will  then 
be  the  world  of  another  generation,  with  which  we  shall 
have  no  shadow  of  right  to  interfere." 

How  shall  we  rid  the  living  present  of  the  dead  past? 
Laws  die  when  the  reason  for  their  existence  ceases.  Un- 
constitutional laws  never  die.  They  are  bound  to  death 
from  the  very  beginning,  yet  they  have  a  place  on  the 
statute  books,  and  by  having  the  semblance  of  life  they 
deceive  and  mislead. 

How  shall  the  code  of  statute  law  be  shaped  into 
symmetrical  proportions,  free  from  the  superfluities  and 
ambiguous  provisions  which  are  unintelligible  to  the  citi- 
zen of  ordinary  understanding.  The  answer  to  these  in- 
quiries will  be  found: 

1.  In  greater  care  in  the  preparation  of  bills  before 
thsy  become  laws.  This  was  the  thought  of  the  framers 
of  the  constitution  of  1818,  when  they  made  the  governor 
and  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  "a  council  of  revision 
to  revise  all  bills  about  to  be  passed  into  laws  by  the 
General  Assembly."  The  provision  that  they  should  "not 
receive  any  salary  or  consideration  under  any  pretense 
whatever"  relegated  the  council  of  revision  into  the  lim- 
bo of  -i-l-  —  . 


1'26  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

2.  In  some  provision  for  the  constant  and  careful 
revision  of  laws  after  they  are  passed.  This  policy  also 
dates  back  in  the  early  history  of  the  State.  In  the  re- 
vision of  1827,  the  153d  section  of  the  criminal  code  was 
as  .follows: 

"It  shall,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be,  the  duty  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme  and  Circuit  Courts,  to  make 
a  special  report  biennially,  to  the  legislature,  of  all  such 
defects,  omissions  or  imperfections  in  this  code  as  ex- 
perience may  suggest." 

Mr.  Brayman  in  his  preface  to  the  revision  of  1845 
says,  that  in  1841  the  duty  of  revising  the  laws  was  im- 
posed on  the  secretary  of  state  and  the  attorney  general. 
In  the  revision  of  1845  the  5th  section  of  chapter  77  makes 
it  the  duty  of  each  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  at- 
torney general,  the  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court,  each  prose 
cuting  attorney,  the  secretary  of  state,  the  auditor  of  pub- 
lic accounts,  the  state  treasurer,  the  major,  brigadier  and 
adjutant  generals,  to  make  a  report  of  all  apparent  de- 
fects, inconsistencies,  unequal  or  oppressive  laws,  which 
they  should  discover,  to  the  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  at  the  commencement  of  each  session  of 
the  General  Assembly,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to 
make  such  amendments  as  would  tend  to  perfect  the  code. 

The  recognition  of  the  necessity  of  constant  revision 
of  the  statutes,  and  the  same  futile  efforts  to  obtain  it 
without  compensation,  are  contained  in  section  31  of  art- 
icle 6  of  the  present  constitution,  which  provides  that  "all 
judges  of  courts  of  record  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  June  of  each  year,  re- 
port in  writing  to  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  such 
defects  and  omissions  in  the  laws  as  their  experience  may 
suggest;  and  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall,  on 
or  before  the  first  day  of  January  of  each  year,  report  in 
writing  to  the  governor  such  defects  and  omissions  in  the 
constitution  and  laws  as  they  shall  find  to  exist,  together 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  12? 

\vith  appropriate  forms  of  bills  to  teure  such  defects  and 
"omissions  hi  the  laws. 

It  will  be  seen  that  th<e  legislature  has  never  ceased 
to  recognize  the  necessity  of  constant  attention  to  the 
form  of  the  statute.  It  has  never  ceased  to  recognize  the 
fact  that  omissions  and  defects  in  the  laws  are  the  inevit- 
able offspring  of  our  method  of  legislation.  It  has  aever 
••ceased  to  recognize  the  fact  that  some  revising  hand 
should  \>e  constantly  engaged  in  pruning  off  dead  mat- 
ter, striking  out  contradictions,  supplying  defects  and  se- 
curing harmony  of  expression.  It  has  sought  in  vain  to 
reach  this  end  by  imposing  the  performance  of  arduous 
and  responsible  duties,  upon  officers  elected  to  discharge 
other  duties,  without  any  increase  of  their  compensation. 

Three-quarters  of  a  Century  of  failure  onght  to  be 
sufficient  to  convince  any  people  that  some  other  method 
•should  be  resorted  to.  What  shall  it  bet  It  must  be  some- 
thing that  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  law-making  power. 
It  must  be  within  the  legislative  department  of  the  State 
government.  It  should  be  a  small  body  consisting  of  but 
few  persons.  Both  branches  of  the  General  Assembly 
should  be  represented  in  it.  It  should  be  created  and  its 
duties  defined  by  law,  and  have  perpetual  existence.  Its 
work  should  not  be  conclusive  until  approved  by  the 
General  Assembly.  It  might  consist  of  one  senator  and 
two  members  of  the  House. 

I  submit  this  as  a  suggestion  only.  Others  may  show 
a  better  way.  If  they  should  I  will  gladly  enter  upon  it. 
What  I  insist  upon  is,  the  necessity  of  constant,  instead  of 
periodical,  revisions.  I  insist  upon  it  as  the  only  method 
of  building  np  a  code  of  statute  law  that  shall  be  har- 
monious, consistent  and  intelligible  to  the  people — as  the 
only  way  to  obtain  a  code  of  law  that  will  command  the 
respect  and  obedience  of  the  citizen. 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ROBINSON.  ILLINOIS,  FEBRUARY  12.  1909 

Throughout  the  United  States,  and  throughout  the 
world,  wherever  liberty  is  loved,  and  the  light  of  civiliza- 
tion has  dawned,  assemblages  like  this  are  held  today  to- 
commemorate  the  centennial  of  the  birth  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  render  tribute  to  his  great  character. 

In  regard  to  things  that  lie  beyond  the  field  of  ordin- 
ary thought  and  action,  man  is  prone  to  overlook  and  dis- 
regard that  which  is  natural  and  real,  and  invest  them 
with  'attributes  which  are  super-natural,  unreal  and  il- 
lusory. AVith  a  little  light  and  an  imperfect  knowledge 
he  gropes  his  way  through  the  mysteries  of  life,  con- 
stantly thirsting  for  something  more  than  human  life  has 
ever  given,  and  seeks  to  penetrate  the  unknown  and  grasp 
the  unknowable.  His  bewildered  imagination  creates 
worlds  and  peoples  them  with  beings  that  are  neither 
gods  nor  men.  Thus  mythologies  have  been  created 
which  attest  the  effort  of  the  mind  to  link  together  the 
finite  and  the  infinite.  All  known  theologies  have  some- 
where, sometime  been  touched  by  the  hand  of  a  super- 
natural mysticism,  and  all  have  been  clouded  by  super- 
stition. 

Much  of  this  superstition  and  many  of  its  creations 
have  vanished  before  the  light  of  a  Christian  civilization, 
but  many  others  linger  and  their  shadows  are  still  upon 
all  lands.  Many  of  the  great  characters  of  history  as  they 
are  presented  to  the  world  today,  are  idealistic.  Hero 
worshippers  are  still  in  the  world,  and  the  heroes  wor- 
shipped by  them,  even  though  modern,  are  much  more 
ideal  than  real. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  129 

American  idealism  is  largely  concentrated  upon  the 
personality  and  character  of  Washington  and  his  com- 
patriots of  the  Revolutionary  era.  These  men  are  so 
idealized  that  if  they  should  return  to  us  now  just  as  they 
were  when  they  lived  and  played  their  part  in  the  drama 
of  life,  we  would  give  them  but  scant  recognition. 

To  judge  correctly  the  character  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, and  assign  him  his  proper  place  in  history,  and  the 
affectionate  veneration  and  love  of  the  world,  all  the  de- 
lusive lights  and  shadows  that  transform  great  men  into 
ideal  heroes  must  be  avoided.  His  character  needs  no  gild- 
ing, nor  any  glare  of  unearthly  light  to  bring  it  into  full 
relief.  Let  him  be  known  as  he  was  in  the  common  walks 
of  life  before  he  attracted  public  attention,  and  before  he 
was  suspected  of  those  great  qualities  which  have  filled 
the  world  with  his  fame. 

The  majority  of  his  biographers  have  sought  to  make 
his  ancestry  more  lowly,  and  his  early  life  more  obscure 
than  they  really  were.  His  ancestors  were  early  pioneers 
in  the  state  of  Kentucky  and  inured  to  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  frontier  life,  where  toil  and  privation  sat  at 
every  cabin  door.  Poverty  and  the  pioneer  always  dwell 
in  the  same  land,  and  at  the  same  time.  In  no  place  was  the 
contest  between  savagery  and  civilization  more  fierce  or 
more  protracted  than  in  Kentucky.  In  this  contest  Mr. 
Lincoln's  grandfather  was  shot  and  killed  in  his  clearing 
by  an  ambushed  Indian  in  sight  of  his  three  boys,  Mord- 
ecai,  Joseph  and  Thomas.  Thomas,  then  six  years  old, 
ran  to  his  dying  father  heedless  of  danger.  Joseph  ran 
to  the  neighboring  fort  for  help.  Mordecai  ran  to  the 
house  for  the  ever  ready  rifle,  with  which  he  placed  him- 
self in  ambush  and  waited  for  the  Indian  who  stole  out 
from  his  hiding  place  to  take  the  scalp  of  the  father  and 
kill  or  capture  the  son.  Mordecai  and  his  rifle  saved  his 
father's  scalp  and  the  life  of  Thomas  and  ended  the  war 
so  far  as  that  Indian  was  concerned. 


130  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

As  boy  and  man  Thomas  Lincoln  was  frank  and  open 
hearted,  with  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  a  quaint  turn  of 
speech,  and  an  intense  love  of  the  songs,  stories  and 
amusements  which  brought  sunshine  into  the  hard  life  of 
the  pioneer. 

On  the  12th  day  of  June  1806  Thomas  Lincoln  and 
Nancy  Hanks  were  married.  She  was  the  daughter  of  an- 
other pioneer  family,  and  had  grown  up  to  womanhood 
under  like  circumstances  and  surroundings  as  had  he. 
One  who  knew  her  personally  said  she  was  a  handsome 
woman,  who  read  her  Bible,  delighted  in  singing  hymns, 
and  owned  a  copy  of  Aesops  Fables  which,  later,  became 
the  cherished  treasure  of  her  illustrious  son.  They  es- 
tablished a  home  and  built  a  cabin  of  round  logs,  clap- 
board roof,  puncheon  floor  and  cat  and  clay  chimney,  on 
the  bank  of  Hodgens  Creek  among  the  Kentucky  hills, 
and  there  began  the  battle  of  life  together.  In  that  cabin 
home,  of  this  typical  son  and  daughter  of  the  pioneers 
who  came  as  the  advance  guard  of  civilization,  on  the  12th 
of  February,  1809.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born,and  here  he 
lived  until  he  was  seven  years  old.  Vachel  Hobbs,  the 
grand  father  of  your  townswoman,  Mrs.  S.  D.  Meserve, 
taught  school  in  the  neighborhood  and  taught  Abraham 
his  letters  and  to  spell  and  read  easy  lessons  of  short 
words.  A  son  of  the  "old  school  master"  told  me  of  this 
period  of  Lincoln's  life. 

In  the  autumn  of  1816  Thomas  Lincoln  moved  to 
Southern  Indiana  where  he  hoped  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  a  better  and  more  successful  fortune  than  he  had  been 
able  to  secure  in  the  state  in  which  he  had  been  born.  In 
establishing  and  building  the  new  home  Abraham  assisted 
his  father  as  other  sons  of  the  early  settlers  assisted 
their  fathers,  and  shared  in  all  other  of  the  hard  and  com- 
mon place  pursuits  and  occupations  of  his  father,  as  a 
farmer  and  carpenter.  He  had  a  taste  for  books  and 
thoroughly  read  the  few  which  he  possessed  or  could 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  131 

borrow.  His  mind  thirsted  for  a  general  knowledge  of 
the  world,  and  to  know  the  reason  of  things.  He  read  the 
Bible  and  learned  law  from  Moses;  and  that  broad  charity 
which  was  the  grace  and  strength  of  his  great  life  from 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  learned  literature  and 
language  from  Shakespeare,  and  the  art  of  apt  and  home- 
ly illustration  from  Aesops  Fables;  patriotism  from  the 
Life  of  Washington;  philosophy  from  the  life  of  Franklin 
and  Poor  Richard's  Almanac,  and  lastly  he  kindled  the 
lights  of  his  imagination  in  the  dreamland  of  the  Pilgrims 
Progress. 

In  181 8  the  first  great  shadow  of  sorrow  was  cast  over 
him  by  the  death  of  his  mother.  The  very  winds  were 
laden  with  the  touch  of  disease  before  which  thousands 
perished  while  savage  nature  was  being  subdued,  and  the 
wilderness  was  being  changed  into  a  garden.  Nancy  Lin- 
coln was  one  of  those  whose  lives  were  sacrificed  on  the 
altar  of  a  coming  civilization.  Her  grave  was  made  in 
the  forest 

Where  no  proud  column  in  the  sun  may  glow, 
To  mock  the  heart  that  is  resting  below." 
After  the  death  of  his  mother  he  made  a  trip  to  New 
Orleans  as  a  flatboatman.    In  this  southern  city  he  visited 
a  slave  market  and  saw  men  and  women  sold  like  cattle 
to  the  highest  bidder.    The  memory  of  what  he  saw  there 
was  never  effaced,  but  remained  and  gave  color  to  his  po- 
litical convictions  in  the  later  years  of  his  life. 

Thomas  Lincoln  was  not  eminently  successful  in  In- 
diana and  in  1830  another  move  was  made.  The  family  ef- 
fects were  loaded  into  a  heavy  wagon  to  which  two  yoke 
of  oxen  were  hitched,  and  with  Abraham  for  driver  the 
long  and  toilsome  journey  to  Macon  County,  Illinois  was 
made.  Here  another  tract  of  wild  land  was  transformed 
into  a  home  for  the  family.  It  was  at  this  place  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  made  the  rails  which  thirty  years  later  made  him 
the  "Rail  Splitter"  candidate  for  President.  Though  he 


132 


had  attained  his  majority  he  remained  with,  and  worked 
for  his  father  another  year  before  beginning  his  own  ca- 
reer. For  another  year  he  was  clerk  in  a  store  and  mill, 
and  Postmaster  at  New  Salem,  Ills.  Then  came  the 
Black  Hawk  war  and  he  was  elected  Captain  of  a  com- 
pany of  Volunteers,  and  when,  after  Stillman's  defeat 
Oov.  Reynolds  discharged  all  volunteer  organizations 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier  and  served  to  the  end  of 
the  war. 

He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  34-36-38-40  and 
came  to  be  recognized  as  the  leader  of  the  Whig  party. 
He  studied  law  and  practiced  surveying  which  he  learned 
during  the  hours  most  men  would  have  wasted  in  idleness. 

As  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  he  favored  a 
system  of  internal  improvements,  secured  the  removal  of 
the  state  Capital  from  Vandalia  to  Springfield  and  when 
the  majority  passed  pro-slavery  resolutions,  entered  his 
protest  upon  the  Journal  "that  the  institution  of  slavery 
was  founded  on  injustice  and  bad  policy. " 

In  1846  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and  during  a 
single  term  acquired  a  national  reputation.  The  Mexican 
war  was  in  progress  and  the  President  in  his  message  to 
Congress  had  said  that  "Mexico  had  invaded  our  terri- 
tory and  shed  the  blood  of  our  citizens  on  our  own  soil." 
Mr.  Lincoln  introduced  resolutions  asking  the  President 
to  designate  the  spot  on  our  territory  that  had  been  in- 
vaded by  Mexico,  and  where  the  blood  of  our  citizens  had 
been  shed.  He  supported  his  resolutions  by  a  speech  in 
which  he  demonstrated  that  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  war 
was  in  disputed  territory,  and  in  a  community  that 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  Mexico,  and  denied  that  of 
the  United  States.  His  position  was  that  the  war  had  been 
unlawfully  and  unconstitutionally  commenced  by  the 
President,  but  it  was  now  the  cause  of  the  country,  and  he 
voted  for  all  measures  proposed  to  carry  on  the  war.  In 
reply  to  a  charge  that  the  Whigs  did  not  support  the  war, 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  133 

lie  said  ''You  have  had  the  services,  the  blood  and  the 
lives  of  our  political  brethren  in  every  trial,  and  on  every 
field.  The  beardless  boy  and  the  matured  man,  the  hum- 
ble and  the  distinguished,  you  have  had  them.  Through 
suffering  and  death,  by  disease  -and  battle  they  have  en- 
dured and  fought  and  fallen  with  you.  Clay  and  Web- 
ster each  gave  a  son  never  to  be  returned.  From  the  state 
of  my  own  residence  we  sent  Marshall,  Morrison,  Baker, 
and  Hardin;  they  all  fought  and  one  fell  and  in  his  fall  we 
lost  our  best  Whig  man.  Nor  were  the  Whigs  few  in  num- 
ber, or  laggard  in  the  day  of  danger.  In  the  fearful, 
bloody,  breathless  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  where  each 
man 's  hard  task  was  to  beat  back  five  foes  or  die  himself, 
of  the  five  officers  who  perished,  four  were  Whigs. 

His  resolutions  in  regard  to  the  Mexican  war  were  un- 
popular and  prevented  his  re-election  to  Congress  and  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  practice  of  law.  In  this  field 
he  won  the  most  brilliant  success  and  established  an  en- 
viable reputation  as  an  able,  honest  and  conscientious 
lawyer.  He  travelled  the  circuits  extensively,  and  gained 
character  as  a  story  teller  as  well  as  lawyer.  His  stories 
were  apt  and  illustrative  of  the  matters  under  discussion 
— carried  as  arrows  in  a  quiver,  and  used  as  weapons  of 
offense  and  defense  in  the  legal  political  and  other  intel- 
lectual contests  in  which  he  engaged.  He  had  great  skill 
in  their  use,  and  those  against  whom  they  were  used, 
realized  they  were  directed  by  the  hand  of  a  master.  With 
ready  discernment  of,  and  keen  relish  for  the  humorous 
in  all  things  he  was  still  a  thoughtful  and  serious  man. 
His  wit  was  only  the  lightning  flashes  between  the  clouds 
of  labor,  care,  anxiety,  sadness  and  sorrow  that  so  often 
darkened  his  sky. 

When  the  slavery  question  was  opened  by  the  Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill,  and  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln re-entered  the  political  arena  to  become  the  most 
prominent  actor  therein  during  his  life.  In  the  white 


134  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

heat  of  the  contest  party  lines  melted  away  and  an  Anti- 
Nebraska  organization  was  formed,  resting  on  the  found- 
ations of  free  speech,  free  labor,  free  territories  and  free 
men.  This  organization  elected  a  majority  to  the  state 
legislature.  A  United  States  senator  was  to  be  elected 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  choice  of  a  large  majority  of 
these  Anti-Nebraska  members.  He  had  led  the  fight  and 
won  the  victory,  and  was  entitled  to  the  senatorship,  but 
there  were  a  few  members  of  Democratic  antecedents  who 
could  not  forgive  him  the  scars  of  former  conflicts.  Re- 
garding the  cause  of  country  as  higher  than  any  personal 
interests,  he  appealed  to  his  friends  to  vote  for  Judge 
Lyman  Trumbull,  and  retired  from  the  contest.  This 
generous  action  cemented  the  union  of  all  elements  that 
were  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  terri- 
tories, and  'consolidated  the  new  organization  into  a 
permanent  political  party.  Mr.  Lincoln  incorporated 
his  political  faith  into  the  platform  of  this  new  party, 
and  became  at  once  its  foremost  champion  in  the  state  of 
Illinois,  and  one  of  its  national  leaders. 

In  1858  one  state  convention  indorsed  Stephen  A. 
Douglass  as  its  candidate  for  U.  S.  Senator,  while  the 
other  indorsed  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was  at  this  convention 
that  he  made  a  speech  in  which  he  said  ' l  A  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand.  I  believe  this  Government 
cannot  endure  permanently  half  free,  and  half  slave.  I 
do  not  expect  the  Government  to  be  dissolved.  I  do  not 
expect  the  house  to  fall  but  I  do  expect  that  it  will  cease 
to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing,  or  the  other." 
Douglass  was  a  recognized  giant  in  debate  but  Mr.  Lin- 
coln proved  to  be  his  superior.  Douglass  won  the  senat- 
orship— Lincoln  won  the  popular  vote  of  the  people — and 
in  the  end,  the  Presidency. 

In  1860  he  was  elected  President.  The  germs  of  se- 
cession had  been  sown  by  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky 
resolution  of  1789.  The  harvest  was  a  political  party 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  135 

that  denied  the  indissolubility  of  the  Union.  With  this 
partjr  the  states  were  held  to  be  sovereignties,  and  the 
National  Union  but  a  league  of  States  bound  together  by 
a  rope  of  sand.  The  states  under  its  control  began  at 
once  the  work  of  destruction.  Before  the  4th  of  March 
seven  of  these  states  had  passed  ordinances  of  secession. 
President  Buchanan  deplored  secession,  but  denied  the 
power  of  the  national  government  to  arrest  its  progress. 
Cabinet  officers  gave  material  aid  to  the  great  conspiracy, 
and  the  departments  at  Washington  were  honeycombed 
with  treason.  Every  sky  was  dark.  Every  sea  swept  by 
storms. 

' '  With  rudder  foully  broken, 
And  sails  by  traitors  torn, 

Our  country  on  a  midnight  sea 
Was  waiting  for  the  morn." 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inaugur- 
ated. His  address  on  the  occasion  was  a  strong,  pa- 
thetic plea  for  peace,  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union. 
It  was  full  of  assurances  that  every  constitutional  and 
legal  right  of  every  citizen  would  be  secure  under  his  ad- 
ministration. Its  closing  paragraph  so  fully  exhibits  the 
greatness  of  the  man,  and  the  charitable  spirit  that  ani- 
mated him  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  that  I  quote  it. 

"In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  countrymen,  and 
not  in  mine  is  the  momentous  issue  of  Civil  War.  The 
Government  will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  con- 
flict without  yourselves  being  the  aggressors.  You  have 
no  oath  registered  in  Heaven  to  destroy  the  Government; 
while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to  preserve,  pro- 
tect and  defend  it.  I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  en- 
emies, but  friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though 
passions  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds 
of  affection. 

1 '  The  mystic  cords  of  memory  stretching  from  every 
battle  field  and  patriot  grave  to  every  loving  heart  and 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the 
chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they 
will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

On  the  22nd  of  September,  1862,  he  issued  a  procla- 
mation that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  in  any  state  or 
designated  part  of  a  state,  the  people  of  which  should  be 
in  rebellion  on  the  first  of  January,  1863,  should  then  and 
thenceforward  and  forever  be  free.  In  his  annual  mes- 
sage of  December,  1863,  he  again  presented  and  argued  his 
favorite  scheme  of  gradual  compensated  emancipation 
and  colonization.  With  the  sword  of  emancipation  flash- 
ing in  the  air  ready  to  strike  the  blow  that  should  break 
every  yoke  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free  ' '  he  was  still 
pleading  for  a  solution  of  the  question  that  would  com- 
pensate every  loyal  owner  for  the  slaves  he  should  lose. 
To  him  the  solution  of  the  question  was  " plain,  peace- 
ful, generous  and  just;  a  way  which,  if  followed,  the 
world  would  forever  applaud,  and  God  must  forever 
bless." 

This  "plain,  peaceful,  generous  and  just"  way  was 
not  accepted  and  on  the  first  of  January,  1863,  he  issued 
the  proclamation  which  smote  the  shackles  from  the 
limbs  of  four  millions  black  men  and  women,  and  unfet- 
ered  the  souls  and  intellect  of  the  white  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  the  birth  song  of  universal  free- 
dom in  America.  The  time  had  come  when  the  nation 
must  be  all  slave  or  all  free,  and  God  in  His  providence 
willed  it  should  be  all  free. 

In  1864  Mr.  Lincoln  was  re-elected  and  inaugurated 
in  March,  1865.  Using  his  own  quaint  language,  the 
people  had  concluded  that  it  was  not  best  to  swap  horses 
while  crossing  the  river,  and  that  he  was  not  so  poor  a 
horse  that  they  might  not  make  a  botch  in  trying  to  swap. 
His  election  gave  new  courage  and  hope  to  the  friends  of 
the  Union,  and  brought  corresponding  depression  to 
those  who  sought  its  destruction.  The  national  armies 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  137 

.justified  this  renewed  confidence  of  the  people  with  a 
series  of  victories  that  foretold  the  end  of  the  war. 
Hood 's  army  was  broken  in  pieces  at  Nashville.  Sherman 
marched  through  Georgia  to  the  sea.  Grant  won  mater- 
ial successes  in  Virginia  and  organized  the  campaign,  that 
Bended  at  Appomattox. 

The  second  inaugural  address  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable state  papers  ever  written.  Remarkable  for  its 
expression  of  unfaltering  faith  in  the  justice  of  God,  and 
<of  submission  to  His  Divine  will;  remarkable  for  its 
•charity  for  those  who  had  so  long  and  bitterly  resisted 
the  National  authority;  remarkable  for  its  absence  of  all 
^consideration  for  himself,  and  for  its  determination  to 
pursne  the  right  as  God  should  give  him  to  see  the  right. 

His  last  public  address  was  on  the  llth  of  April  1865, 
and  was  devoted  very  largely  to  the  subject  of  re-con- 
struction. He  declined  to  discuss  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  revolted  states  "were  out  of,  or  in  the 
Union".  He  said  "let  their  practical  relations  to  the 
Union  be  restored,  and  finding  themselves  safely  at 
home  it  would  be  utterly  immaterial  whether  they  had 
'ever  been  abroad." 

On  the  evening  of  April  14,  1865,  he  was  at  Ford's 
Theatre  in  Washington  to  see  Laura  Keene  in  "Our  Amer- 
ican Cousin. ' '  Wilkes  Booth  entered  the  box  behind  him, 
and  shot  "him  through  the  brain.  He  died  the  next  morn- 
ing. His  honored  dust  rests  in  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery, 
Springfield,  Illinois,  where  the  love  of  tKe  American  peo- 
ple has  builded  a  splendid  monument  to  commemorate 
his  great  life. 

Throughout  his  entire  public  career,  in  which  all  his 
purposes  were  honest  and  patriotic,  and  every  path  in 
he  walked  was  of  unselfish  duty,  and  every  duty 
performed  with  fidelity,  courage  and  intelligence, 
the  storms  of  detraction  and  falsehood  beat  fiercely 
against  him.  No  man  of  his  time  was  so  much,  or  so  ma- 


lignantly  misrepresented.  His  majestic  spirit  rose  above* 
these  hitter  currents  of  opposition  that  were  directed 
against  him  by  traitors,  armed  and  unarmed.  No  words 
of  bitterness  or  railing  were  returned  by  him.  He  could 
truly  say  that  he  had  "Malice  toward  none  and  charity 
for  all. ' '  When  treason  did  its  worst  and  took  his  life,  the- 
great  thought  that  filled  his  mind  was,  how  to  heal  the 
wounds  of  his  bleeding  country  and  bring  back  her  erring: 
sons  without  humiliation,  but  without  sacrificing  the  in- 
terests of  right,  justice  and  freedom. 

It  has  been  said  and  is  still  repeated,  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  a  man  without  any  belief  in  God.  He  stands  to* 
be  judged  in  this  respect  as  other  men.  No  man  can  rise 
above  his  obligations  to  his  Creator  or  be  excused  if  he 
disregards  them.  Go  and  stand  by  the  bedside  of  his  dy- 
ing mother  while  she  lays  her  trembling  hands  on  the 
head  of  her  nine  year  old  boy  and  blesses  him,  saying 
"I  am  going  away  from  you  Abraham,  and  I  shall  not  re- 
turn. I  know  that  you  will  be  a  good  boy;  that  you  will  be 
kind  to  Sarah  and  your  Father.  I  want  you  to  live  as  I 
have  taught  you,  and  love  your  Heavenly  Father. ' ' 

Long  years  afterwards,  when  in  the  strength  of  his 
manhood,  and  the  rugged  battle  of  his  life  was  on,  from 
out  of  its  noise  and  tumult  he  sent  to  his  dying  father  this 
message  of  (hope  and  faith:  "TellhimtocalLuponand  con- 
fide in  our  great  and  good  and  merciful  Maker,  who  will 
not  turn  away  from  him  in  any  extremity;  He  notes  the 
sparrow's  fall  and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads;  and 
He  will  not  forget  the  dying  man  who  puts  his  trust  in 
Him.  That  if  it  be  his  lot  to  go  now  he  will  soon  have  a 
joyous  meeting  with  many  loved  ones  gone  before,  and 
where  the  rest  of  us,  through  the  help  of  God,  hope  ere 
long  to  come."  Go  with  me  to  Springfield  in  1861  and 
listen  to  his  farewell  words  to  his  neighbors:  "A  duty  de- 
volves upon  me  which  is  perhaps  greater  than  that  which 
lias  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of  Wash- 


OTHELBEET  CALLAHAN  139 

mgton.  He  never  could  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid 
«of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied. 
I  feel  that  1  cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid 
Avhich  sustained  him;  and  hi  that  same  Almighty  Being  I 
place  my  reliance  for  support;  and  I  hope  that  you,  my 
friends,  will  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  Divine  assist- 
ance without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  suc- 
cess is  certain." 

Follow  him  through  the  public  utterances  of  the  re- 
maining years  of  his  life,  and  in  them  you  will  find  more 
fervent  and  more  frequent  expressions  of  faith  and  trust 
in  (rod  than  in  the  utterances  of  any  other  of  the  Presi- 
dents. He  was  no  sectary.  He  had  that  faith  that  looks 
beyond  all  creeds,  and  that  charity  that  embraces  all  man- 
kind. He  believed  that  the  justice  of  God  would  pursue, 
overtake  and  punish  those  who  offended  against  it, 
Avhether  the  offender  be  a  nation  or  an  individual. 

The  first  time  that  I  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  to  know  him 
was  in  Springfield.  Murdoch  the  great  elocutionist  gave 
a  Shakespearian  reading  one  night.  It  was  the  custom 
at  that  time  for  the  artist  to  wish  the  audience  a  good 
night  at  the  close  of  the  performance.  As  Murdoch  came 
forward  Mr.  Lincoln  rose  and  expressed  the  satisfaction 
of  himself  and  others  in  the  reading  and  asked  if  it  would 
be  possible  to  give  another  reading  the  next  evening. 
After  some  hesitation  it  was  arranged  another  reading 
should  be  given. 

From  its  birth  I  was  an  enthusiastic  member  of  the 
Eepublican  party.  I  believed  in  its  principles  and  ac- 
cepted its  policy.  Mr.  Lincoln's  debate  with  Senator 
Douglass  and  his  speeches  had  impressed  me  with  the 
belief  that  he  was  a  pure  man,  and  a  very  great  man.  I 
rejoiced  in  his  nomination  and  participated  actively  in 
the  campaign  for  election.  In  the  winter  following  his 
election  I  was  in  Springfield  and  saw  him  on  the  street, 
and  also  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives 


140  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL 


during  the  ballot  to  elect  a  U.  S.  Senator.  I  was  a  yonrrgr 
man  in  years  and  a  younger  still  in  public  life — more  of 
an  onlooker  than  anything-  else.  I  was  observing  history 
and  learning.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  center  of  observation; 
The  city  was  thronged  with  visiting  politicians  and 
statesmen.  It  was  current  at  the  time  that  many  of  these- 
visitors  seemed  to  suppose  themselves  charged  with  the 
duty  of  instructing  Mr.  Lincoln  in  regard  to  his  duties 
when  he  should  become  President.  They  had  not  taken: 
the  measure  of  the  man.  Some  of  them  did  before  they 
went  away.  During  this  time  his  manner  was  serious  and 
whatever  he  said  or  did  -showed  intense  anxiety  in  regard 
to  the  future.  He  then  believed  that  war  could  be  avert- 
ed, but  that  the  policy  of  President  Buchanan  was  lead- 
ing to  inevitable  war.  It  is  true  that  he  told  stories  to* 
some  who  proffered  unwelcome  advice  or  asked  imperti- 
nent questions. 

It  is  my  judgment  that  as  a  rule  those  who  have  at- 
tempted to  describe  Mr.  Lincoln's  personality  have  used 
too  much  color.  He  was  tall  and  bony  but  not  more  80- 
th  an  many  others.  He  was  not  a  dude  in  dress,  neither 
was  he  the  sloven  that  he  was  alleged  to  be.  He  was  a 
teller  of  stories  but  many  stories  are  attributed  to  him 
which  he  never  told  and  of  which  he  probably  never 
heard. 

Great  men  are  regarded  as  gifts  from  God  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  some  great  good  in  the  world.  Hence 
the  days  of  their  birth  are  commemorated  by  those  who 
appreciate  the  good  they  have  done.  The  purpose  of  these 
occasions  is  to  keep  alive  the  memories  of  such  men,  that 
they  may  be  examples  to  those  who  follow  after  them :  to 
preserve  the  benefits  they  comf erred  by  their  life  and  acts. 
Lincoln  gave  to  us  our  unbroken  American  Union  and  he 
gave  it  to  us — free. 

The  preservation  of  the  Union  thus  secured  and 
saved,  is  one  of  the  duties  to  be  inculcated  by  the  observ- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  141 

ance  of  this  day.  We  very  properly  turn  back  to  the  time 
when  our  fathers  laid  the  foundations,  and  erected  the 
strong  pillars  of  a  free  constitutional  government,  and  en- 
dowed it  with  perpetuity.  We  comtemplate  the  security 
and  happiness  that  we  enjoy  under  this  government, 
and  look  at  it  as  the  ark  of  our  safety.  We  stand  amazed 
in  the  presence  of  the  fact,  that  part  of  the  people  thus 
protected,  in  an  evil  hour  attempted  to  destroy  this  tem- 
ple bnilt  by  our  fathers.  We  take  pride  in  and  give 
praise  to  those  who  resisted  the  attempt  and  saved  the 
temple  from  destruction. 

The  grand  manner  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  performed 
the  public  acts  which  have  placed  him  on  the  mountain 
tops  of  fame,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  the  world  to 
his  great  character — the  simplicity  and  perfectness  with 
which  he  performed  the  plain  duties  which  lay  along  the 
ordinary  paths  of  life — the  unflagging  industry  which 
plucked  wayside  moments  and  opportunities  and  turned 
them  into  the  golden  coin  of  success — as  boatman,  clerk, 
postmaster,  soldier,  legislator,  lawyer,  congressman, 
politician,  President  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Armies  of  the  Republic,  be  will  stand  forever  as  an  ex- 
ample worthy  of  universal  imitation. 

Above  all  things  the  life  of  our  martyred  President 
"should  teach  us  patriotism.  It  should  inspire  every 
beart  with  new  devotion  to  human  liberty.  It  should 
make  each  citizen  a  devotee  at  the  altar  of  justice.  It 
should  turn  every  eye  to  the  flag  that  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  has  been  the  symbol  of  free  government 
among  men,  and  it  should  nerve  every  heart  and  every 
arm  with  courage  to  defend  that  flag  on  any  field  over 
which  it  floats,  whether  in  peace  or  in  war. 

On  this  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birth, 
memory  recalls  the  conflict  with  which  his  life  ended. 
We  stand  again  in  the  presence  of  the  acts  and  actors  in 
that  terrible  test  of  the  strength  and  durability  of  free 


142 


government.  We  remember  that  his  was  the  master 
spirit  of  the  hour,  which  never  lost  hope  or  courage,  and 
never  faltered  in  the  discharge  of  any  duty. 

With  all  these  memories  of  his  greatness,  his  good- 
ness, his  courage  and  patriotism  clustering  round  us — v;e 
catch  his  spirit  and  recall  his  presence  in  all  its  rugged 
beauty  and  honesty. 

" — slow  to  smite  and  swift  to  spare, 

Gentle,  merciful  and  just, 

Who  in  the  fear  of  God  didst  bear 

The  sword  of  power,  a  nation's  trust. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  143 


ST.  PATRICK'S  DAY  IN  THE  EVENING,  A.  D.  1910 

MR.  CHAIRMAN: 

In  my  heart,  I  appreciate  the  compliment  of  the  in- 
vitation given  me  to  be  present  and  join  with  you  in  the 
commemoration  of  the  life  and  labor  of  a  man  who  rend- 
ered great  service  in  the  Vineyard  of  our  common  Lord 
and  Master. 

There  are  very  few  citizens  of  the  United  States  who 
do  not  trace  their  lineage  to  some  country  of  the  old 
world,  and  claim  kindred  with  the  land  from  which  their 
ancestors  came.  We  Americans  are  all  exotic  with  tend- 
rils reaching  across  the  ocean,  and  still  clinging  to  the  soil 
of  some  Fatherland.  I  am  three  generations  away  from 
the  Shamrock  and  the  Blarney  stone,  but  these  three 
generations  are,  to  me,  golden  trails  along  which  thought, 
and  memory,  and  affection  traverse  through  the  years 
that  have  flown  by  since  the  emigration  of  my  ancestors 
from  the  Emerald  Isle,  to  the  history  and  traditions  of 
that  marvelous  country,  and  of  its  more  marvelous  people. 
I  may  be  pardoned  for  the  well  grounded  pride  I  take  in 
the  Irish  blood  that  courses  through  my  veins,  and  which 
has  had  much  influence  in  forming  my  character,  de- 
termining my  course,  and  measuring  my  success  in  life. 

I  am  not  much  given  to  the  observation  of  days  set 
apart  to  the  memory  of  those  who  have  been  canonized  as 
Saints,  but  I  always  make  an  exception  in  favor  of  Saint 
Patrick  and  the  day  set  apart  to  commemorate  his  life, 
and  his  distinguished  service  to  the  Church,  his  country, 
and  to  the  world. 

He  was  one  of  the  world's  great  men,  an  honor  to  the 
citizenship  of  the  country  in  which  he  lived,  and  an  orna- 


144  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

iiient  to  the  Church  to  which  he  belonged,  and  to  which  life 
gave  a  long  life-time  of  eminently  successful  service.  To 
nira  belongs  the  credit  of  transforming  Ireland  from  the 
darkness  of  heathenism,  to  the  light  of  Christianity. 
Christianity  brought  the  light  and  life  of  a  higher  and 
better  civilization,  and  effected  an  elevation  of  the  nation 
al  character. 

The  limits  of  this  occasion  forbid  any  attempt  to  de- 
line  or  describe  the  peculiar  traits  of  Irish  character,  or 
the  personal  mention  of  distinguished  men  and  women  of 
that  nationality.  I  must  be  content  to  make  brief  mention 
of  the  country  and  its  people.  The  hisory  of  Ireland  has 
been  one  of  stress  and  storm.  Life  there  has  not  been 
quiet  or  peaceful.  It  has  been  swept  by  cruel  and  op 
pressive  wars.  The  hand  of  the  oppressor  has  rested 
heavily  upon  it.  The  denial  of  civil,  political  and  relig- 
ions rights  by  the  government,  was  the  occasion  for  wide 
spread,  and  almost  universal  discontent  among  the  Irish 
people.  This  discontent  with  conditions  at  home,  caused 
an  emigration  from  Ireland  to  every  known  country  of  the 
world:  Irishmen  readily  become  loyal  citizens  of  the 
countries  into  which  they  emigrate,  but  retain  the  char- 
acteristics of  their  native  land.  They  are  born  leaders, 
and  are  to  be  found  near  the  head  of  the  class  in  all  the 
enterprises  in  which  they  engage. 

On  every  battlefield  where  the  determination  of  hu- 
man rights  have  been  referred  to  the  dread  arbitrament  of 
war,  Irish  valor  has  been  conspicuous,  and  Irish  blood  has 
been  poured  out  freely  as  an  offering  in  the  cause  of  right, 
'as  the  Irish  soldier  understood  the  right. 

In  every  parliamentary  body  where  the  rights  of  men 
or  of  Nations  have  been  the  subject  of  high  debate,  and 
laws  made  for  the  protection  and  defense  of  such  rights, 
Irish  eloquence  has  been  heard  pleading  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity and  liberty,  and  denouncing  oppression  and 
wrong. 


EXHELBERT  CALLAHAN  145 

In  the  church  Irish  men  have  been  sturdy  and  elo- 
quent defenders  of  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints 
and  which  continues  to  be  the  light  of  the  world. 

At  the  Bar  Irishmen  have  ever  furnished  illustrious 
representatives  of  the  legal  profession,  whose  learning, 
eloquence  and  zeal  have  made  them  leaders  of  men,  and 
given  them  great  influence  in  moulding  the  institutions 
of  the  countries  in  which  they  lived. 

In  every  field  of  industry,  no  matter  in  what  country 
it  lies,  Irish  brain  and  Irish  brawn  are  prominent  and 
effective  factors  of  success. 

In  every  banquet  hall,  of  the  civilized  world  Irish  wit 
is  the  intellectual  diamond  which  sparkles  brighter  than 
all  the  other  jewels  that  adorn  the  feast. 

Irish  Bulls  stray  through  the  literature  of  all  lan- 
guages, and  give  infinite  delight,  and  a  world  of  amuse- 
ment to  those  who  can  appreciate  the  absurd,  and  laugh 
at  the  ridiculous. 

Irish  poets  have  written  songs  of  love,  of  religious 
devotion,  of  lofty  patriotism,  as  sweet  and  melodious  as 
the  world 's  minstrelsy  ever  heard,  and  Irish  fingers  have 
struck  from  the  strings  of  Lute  and  Harp  notes  as  tender 
and  melodious  as  ever  soothed  a  troubled  spirit,  or 
poured  the  balm  of  consolation  into  a  broken  heart. 


146  '       AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ON  PRESENTATION  OF  A  NATIONAL  FLAG 

TO  THE  ILLINOIS  NATIONAL  GUARD,  MAY  30,  1880 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

This  old  flag  which  the  citizens  of  Crawford  County 
presented  to  the  21st  Regiment  nineteen  years  ago  calls 
up  the  memories  of  that  time  and  of  the  eventful  years 
since  then.  The  Regiment  was  commanded  by  Col.  Grant 
whose  career  during  the  four  years  of  the  war,  and  the 
years  of  peace,  that  have  followed  the  war,  has  made  him 
the  most  distinguished  citizen  of  our  country,  and  given 
him  a  world  wide  fame.  To  write  or  speak  in  memory  of 
the  soldier  it  is  necessary  to  mention  the  men  who  were 
conspicuous  in  the  war.  To  omit  these  would  be  to  omit 
the  material  facts  of  history.  This  flag  was  borne  by  the 
regiment  to  whom  it  was  presented  through  many  long 
inarches  and  terrible  battles,  and  is  here  today  covered 
with  honor  b>  the  heroic  deeds  of  those  who  fell  in  its  de- 
fence, as  well  as  those  who  survived. 

Soldiers  of  the  Illinois  National  Guard.  The  ladies 
6f  Robinson  have  this  morning  presented  you  a  beautiful 
flag  with  its  stars  all  untarnished  and  bright,  and  its 
stripes  all  unstained  by  the  dust  of  battles.  I  charge  you 
to  keep  it  and  preserve  it  as  faithfully  as  the  men  to 
whom  this  old  flag  was  given,  kept  and  preserved  it.  I 
trust  that  peace  may  reign  as  long  as  we  shall  live  and 
that  you  may  never  be  called  to  carry  this  standard  to 
battle.  But  in  times  of  peace  the  soldier  may  gather 
honors  as  well  as  in  times  of  war.  By  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  duty  and  by  soldierly  and  gentlemanly  con- 
duct under  all  circumstances  you  can  honor  the  flag  com- 
mitted to  your  keeping,  as  much  as  the  brave  men  of  the 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  147 

21st  Regiment  honored  the  one  committed  to  them. 
Peace  hath  her  victories  as  well  as  war.  The  30th  day  of 
May  has  been  set  apart  as  a  day  of  commemoration  of  the 
dead  soldiers  of  our  late  civil  strife  by  decorating  their 
graves  with  flowers.  By  this  ceremony  of  strewing 
flowers  upon  the  graves  of  a  few  only,  of  the  many  who 
bleep  in  our  village  cemetery,  we  testify  that  there  was 
something  in  the  lives  of  these  few  which  we  wish  to  keep 
in  grateful  remembrance.  All  around  them  lie  fathers 
and  mothers,  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children, 
brothers  and  sisters,  lover  and  beloved.  Memory  calls 
them  all  to  our  hearts  and  we  drop  a  tear  upon  the  sod 
which  covers  them.  That  is  all  for  them  today.  But 
over  the  few  who  were  not  of  our  family  or  kindred,  not 
bound  to  us  by  ties  of  blood,  not  welded  to  our  hearts  by 
links  of  personal  affection,  we  cover  the  ground  with 
flowers.  And  why?  In  the  great  struggle  between  the 
disintegrating  and  destructive  forces  of  separatism  as 
represented  by  the  secession  of  1861,  and  the  conserva- 
tive forces  of  national  unity  and  sovereignty  represented 
by  the  Government  and  the  authorities  of  the  United 
States,  these  whom  we  commemorate  today  bore  an  ac- 
tive and  heroic  part.  They  gave  their  lives  to  preserve 
the  nation  and  overthrow  its  enemies.  This  is  the  fact 
which  brought  us  here  today  ' '  to  clasp  in  our  hearts  these 
dead  heroes  of  ours  and  cover  them  over  with  beautiful 
flowers."  The  government  of  the  United  States  was  the 
offspring  of  a  conflict  of  ideas  which  began  among  the 
people  in  civil  life  and  ended  on  the  battle  field  of  the 
Revolution.  After  separation  from  England  had  been 
accomplished  and  National  independence  established, 
Washington  had  the  sagacity  to  see  clearly  that  as  a  Con- 
federation of  States  the  nation  could  not  hold  together. 
He  urged  th'e  necessity  of  a  government  superior  to  the 
states  with  sovereign  authority  in  all  things  of  a  national 
character.  The  necessity  was  recognized  and  was  met  by 


148  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

the  adoption  Qf  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
Washington  was  elected  the  first  President  under  the 
new  form  of  government.  His  leading  thought  was  the 
political  oneness  of  the  American  people.  His  leading 
purpose  was  to  consolidate  the  Union  and  make  it  per- 
petual. To  that  end  he  foresaw  that  the  national  govern- 
ment must  have  authority  to  declare  war,  and  strength  to 
carry  it  on;  that  it  must  have  the  power  to  protect  itself 
from  domestic  disturbances  and  to  suppress  rebellion  and 
insurrection  should  any  arise.  While  the  President  was 
pursuing  his  patriotic  purpose  wisely  and  accomplishing 
it  well,  there  were  partisans  who  charged  him  with  am- 
bitious designs  against  the  liberties  of  the  people.  They 
charged  that  he  was  assuming  imperial  power  and  grasp- 
ing at  an  imperial  crown.  These  zealots  pursued  him  with 
as  much  bitterness,  and  waged  against  him,  a  warfare  as 
malignant  as  any  we  have  witnessed  in  our  own  time.  The 
people,  always  jealous  of  their  personal,  and  local  rights, 
were  told  that  the  design  of  the  national  government  was 
to  destroy  the  state  governments  entirely.  It  was  insist- 
ed with  more  zeal  than  wisdom,  that  the  only  way  to  se- 
cure the  liberties  of  the  people  was  to  hold  in  the  several 
states,  and  in  each  of  them,  the  right  and  power,  under 
certain  conditions,  of  which  the  states  were  to  be  the 
judges,  of  resisting  the  national  authority  and  disregard- 
ing the  national  laws. 

This  opposition  to  Washington  culminated  in  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party  of  1801,  which  ob- 
tained control  of  the  government  and  retained  it  for  a 
long  series  of  years.  This  doctrine  that  one  state  is  su- 
perior to  all  the  states  has  been  held  by  a  large  number 
of  people  whose  patriotism  may  be  intense  enough,  but 
it  is  too-narrow  to  embrace  the  whole  country  and  is  cir- 
cumscribed by  the  boundaries  of  their  particular  state. 
It  has  been  the  watchword  of  every  secessionist  from  the 
beginning  until  now.  As  long  as  those  who  hold  this  con- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  149 

federate  theory  of  the  government  were  in  power  they 
had  no  occasion  to  practice  their  theory. 

In  1 860  when  the  public  conscience  was  aroused,  and 
the  public  judgment  pronounced  against  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  confederate  party  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  the  Presidency,  it  became  apparent  that  the 
idea  of  National  sovereignty  and  perpetual  union  was 
again  in  the  ascendant.  It  was  then  that  those  who  had 
lost  control  of  the  government  determined  to  destroy  it 
by  putting  in  practice  their  confederate  theory,  and  exer- 
cising rights  which  they  had  always  claimed  to  exist. 
They  passed  ordinances  declaring  the  secession  of  their 
states  from  the  Union,  and  assumed  an  attitude  of  hostil- 
ity to  the  National  government.  If  their  theory  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  government  is  correct,  their  ordinances 
of  secession  were  legal  and  they  became  foreign  states. 
If  the  union  was  but  a  confederation  of  sovereign  states 
the  right  of  a  state  to  secede  existed  and  the  exercise  of 
the  right  gave  no  occasion  for  any  war  against  them, 
By  the  law  of  nations  there  exists  no  right  to  coerce  a 
sovereign  state.  This  was  the  view  taken  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  at  the  time  the  secession  began. 
He  was  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  yet 
as  state  after  state  seceeded,  he  did  nothing  to  prevent 
them  from  doing  so.  For  months  the  work  of  disintegra- 
tion and  destruction  went  on,  not  only  unchecked,  but  ap- 
parently encouraged  by  the  President  and  those  acting 
under  him.  On  the  4th  day  of  March,  1861,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln became  President.  He  was  of  the  political  school  of 
Washington.  He  believed  heartily  that  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance 
thereof  were  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  anything  in  the 
constitution  or  laws  of  a  state  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. He  registered  his  solemn  oath  in  Heaven  to 
preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  government,  and  to  take 
care  that  the  laws  were  faithfully  executed.  In  the  dis- 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

charge  of  these  high  duties,  on  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  he 
called  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  to  repossess 
the  forts,  places  and  property  of  the  United  States,  which 
had  been  seized  by  the  confederate  authorities. 

Illinois  responded  promptly  to  the  call  with  her  full 
quota.  In  that  quota  was  the  21st  Regiment  commanded 
by  Col.  Grant  then  an  unknown,  unassuming,  modest  citi- 
zen; now  the  foremost  man  of  all.  the  world.  With  all  his 
honors  his  modesty  is  still  preserved,  his  characteristics 
as  pure  and  his  name  as  spotless  as  any  that  was  ever  in- 
scribed on  the  scroll  of  fame.  In  Company  I  from  this 
county  there  were  many  who  now  repose  in  that  slumber 
which  shall  remain  unbroken  until  the  last  reveille  of 
time  shall  beat,  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  its  dead,  and 
they  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth.  What 
shall  I  say  of  them?  They  stand  before  me  today  mir- 
rored in  memory.  Time  forbids  me  to  name  them  all,  but 
a  few  I  cannot  pass  by.  Peck  with  his  fine  intellectual 
face,  the  index  of  his  cultured  mind;  his  scholarly  at- 
tainments; his  rare  worth  as  a  man  and  a  lawyer;  his 
high  hopes  and  strong  probabilities  of  reaching  emin- 
ence and  gathering  honors  in  his  opening  professional 
career,  laid  all  these  with  his  life  on  the  altar  of  his  im- 
periled country.  Lagow,  as  brave  and  chivalrous  as  any 
cavalier  who  ever  wielded  a  battle  brand  sleeps  in  the 
cemetery  at  Palestine.  Knight,  the  rare  conversationalist 
and  charmed  center  of  the  social  circle,  after  bearing 
toils  and  fatigue  and  wounds  yielded  to  wasting  disease 
and  died  in  his  early  manhood.  The  next  company  from 
the  county  was  D.  30  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteers.  It 
was  commanded  by  Capt.  Thos.  G.  Markley  of  Hutson- 
ville,  than  whom  no  man  had  a  braver,  truer  heart.  He 
was  a  man  who  loved  his  friends  with  a  constancy  that 
never  wavered:  his  patriotism  was  pure  and  his  courage 
high.  On  the  7th  day  of  November,  1861,  he  fell  at  Bel- 
mont,  the  first  soldier  from  this  county  killed  in  battle. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  151 

At  Champion  Hills,  May  16,  1863,  Captain  George  E. 
Meilly  of  the  same  company  was  killed  in  battle.  A  man 
in  all  things  faithful  and  in  all  things  trusted.  A  patriot 
without  reserve  he  sleeps  where  he  fell,  but  the  flag  of  the 
Union  shadows  his  dust.  Who  of  us  does  not  remember 
the  manly  form  of  Major  Mumford  of  the  5th  Cavalry. 
His  patriotism  was  higher  and  broader  than  his  partisan- 
ship and  impelled  him  to  give  his  life  with  all  its  grand 
possibilities  to  the  cause  of  the  Union.  Faithfully  and 
well  he  followed  the  flag  which  his  heart  loved  most  loy- 
ally, until  October  26,  1864,  when  he  died  at  Springfield, 
Illinois.  There  are  other  officers  and  soldiers  who  de- 
serve honorable  mention.  I  should  love  to  call  the  roll  of 
all  the  patriot  dead  of  the  county  and  pay  a  personal  trib- 
ute to  the  patriotism  of  each  but  time  and  circumstances 
forbid  that  I  should  do  so.  They  fell  on  almost  every 
battlefield  of  the  south.  They  died  in  hospitals  and 
some  of  them  sleep  in  the  graves  of  the  unknown;  un- 
known to  their  families  and  personal  friends;  but  known 
to  the  country  and  to  the  world  as  part  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Union,  whose  stately  tread  unshackled  the 
slave  and  whose  victories  saved  the  government  from  de- 
struction. In  a  few  years  more  when  comrades  have  de- 
parted and  tombstones  have  crumbled,  one  by  one  as  the 
years  go  by  they  all  shall  join  the  unknown.  We  can 
point  to  the  immediate  resting  place  of  but  a  few  of  the 
Revolutionary  soldiers.  But  we  feel  that  the  whole  broad 
land  is  their  sepulchre  and  by  their  heroic  action  and 
sleeping  dust  is  consecrated  to  free  government.  So  shall 
it  be  with  the  soldiers  whom  we  commemorate  today. 
Their  names  will  be  forgotten  and  their  graves  become 
unmarked  and  unknown  but  the  great  army  and  its  great 
conflict  shall  be  had  in  remembrance  forever  and  the 
continent  baptized  with  their  blood  shall  be  sacred  to 
the  rights  and  liberties  of  mankind. 


152  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


An  address  of  this  kind  would  be  incomplete  without 
some  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  his 
early  life  a  child  of  poverty  and  toil  he  grew  into  physi- 
cal, intellectual  and  political  manhood  with  the  growth  of 
the  State  of  Illinois.  His  statesmanship  was  as  broad  as 
her  prairies  and  as  pure  as  the  winds  that  swept  over 
them.  He  always  did  the  right  as  God  gave  him  to  see  the 
right.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  religious  faith.  His  creed 
was,  "without  Divine  assistance  I  cannot  succeed,  but 
with  it  success  is  certain."  And  this  in  the  face  of  a 
powerful  enemy  standing  against  a  storm  of  false  and 
malignant  detraction  as  bitter  as  partisan  hate  could 
make  it  he  discharged  his  high  duties  faithfully  and  with 
distinguished  ability.  In  all  his  letters  and  speeches 
there  is  not  to  be  found  a  single  sentence  of  hatred,  nor  a 
word  of  bitterness.  Charity  for  all  was  more  than  a  senti- 
ment: it  was  a  living  principle  and  a  master  motive  of  his 
life.  But  his  great  character  was  no  protection  from  the 
deadly  shafts  of  treason.  On  the  14th  of  April,  1865,  at  a 
cabinet  meeting  the  President  manifested  a  great  cheer- 
fulness and  high  hopes  of  the  future.  He  spoke  with  great 
kindness  of  General  Lee  and  appeared  to  feel  that  the 
restoration  of  peace  and  the  re-establishment  of  national 
authority  was  an  easy  task.  That  same  evening  he  was 
assassinated  and  the  stricken  nation  has  mourned  for  him 
since  and  well  may  it  mourn.  For  among  the  many  rich 
gifts  of  Providence  to  our  country  none  was  richer  than 
the  life  of  this  grand  man  which  shall  be  an  example  of 
perfect  manhood  for  all  time  to  come.  We  cannot  stand  at 
his  tomb  today,  and  crown  his  dust  with  flowers,  but  we 
can  give  a  brief  space  to  the  memory  of  his  great  life  and 
drink  in  the  spirit  of  loyalty  and  liberty,  and  personal 
and  political  purity  which  were  the  grand  work  and  sub- 
stance of  his  character.  Memory  loves  to  carry  us  back 
to  the  conflicts  of  our  war  for  independence ;  to  Lexington 
where  the  first  blood  was  shed;  to  Bunker  Hill  where 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  153 

Warren  died  that  the  nation  might  be  born;  to  Yorktown, 
the  scene  of  the  final  surrender.  It  loves  to  seek  out  every 
battle  field  where  a  patriot  sleeps  and  calls  it  holy  ground. 
It  loves  to  call  over  the  roll  of  those  heroic  men  and  write 
their  names  in  the  book  of  memory  there  to  remain  until 
memory  itself  shall  die.  A  pleasant  page  in  the  history 
of  that  time  tells  how  beautiful  girls  strewed  the  high- 
way with  flowers  so  that  Washington  passed  over  a  bed  of 
roses  the  fragrance  of  which  arose  as  the  incense  of  grat- 
itude. The  cause  for  which  our  soldiers  fought  was  as 
just  as  that  of  the  Revolution.  The  patriotism  that  im- 
pelled them  was  as  pure,  and  their  courage  was  as  high. 
The  ground  crimsoned  with  their  blood  and  where  their 
rlust  reposes  is  as  sacred  to  liberty  and  right.  We  need 
not  return  to  the  ages  where  history  is  lost  in  myth  to  find 
heroism.  Its  best  exhibition  has  been  in  our  own  time 
and  in  our  own  land.  We  have  personally  known  the 
heroes  and  have  pursued  with  them  the  common  avoca- 
tions of  life.  We  have  had  a  common  citizenship  with 
them.  When  the  Southern  heart  was  fired,  when  the 
Southern  brain  was  frenzied,  and  Southern  hands  tore 
down  the  flag  of  the  Union  and  rail  up  the  banner  of 
Reparation  and  disunion,  we  saw  these  quiet  men;  these 
neighbors  of  ours  go  from  us  to  battle  and  if  need  be  to 
die  for  the  Union.  We  were  spectators  of  their  long  toil- 
some marches  and  terrible  battles;  we  saw  many  of  them 
die  on  the  bitter  fields  of  conflict;  others  wasted  a-vay  in 
hospitals:  others  still  returned  scarred,  wounded  and 
maimed,  or  smitten  with  fatal  disease.  Many  of  these  are 
already  dead,  others  live  to  remind  us  of  what  they  have 
done  for  us,  for  the  nation,  and  for  humanity.  The  Rev- 
olution had  its  great  leaders  on  whose  arm  the  country 
leaned  for  strength  in  time  of  war  and  for  counsel  in  time 
of  peace. 

In  the  greater  conflict  for  the  preservation  of  the 
government,  the  people  have  a  leader,  wise  in  counsel 


154  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

and  strong  in  war.  A  leader  who  never  met  defeat  on 
any  fleld;  we  should  emulate  the  children  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  strew  his  way  through  the  world  with  flowers. 

My  Fellow  Citizens.  We  honor  the  dead  soldier  by 
covering  his  dust  with  flowers,  let  us  remember  that 
they  died  that  the  flag  of  our  country  might  be  advanced 
high  above  all  others  and  that  the  authority  which  it 
represents  might  be  supreme  over  all  others.  Let  us  not 
forget  that  our  government  is  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people  and  its  fate  depends  on  the  integrity,  pa- 
triotism and  courage  of  the  people.  The  memories  of  the 
past  keep  these  alive.  The  4th  of  July  as  a  monumental 
institution  recalling  each  year  the  story  of  independence 
has  done  more  to  keep  alive  the  patriotism  and  courage 
of  the  American  people  than  all  the  constitutional  argu- 
ments that  were  ever  written.  In  the  flowers  which  we 
today,  scatter  over  the  dust  of  the  soldier,  we  kindle 
the  patriotic  spirit  and  write  anew  upon  our  own  hearts 
the  history  of  the  confederate  rebellion  and  of  its  over- 
throw by  the  armies  of  the  Union. 

In  this  day  of  decoration  we  erect  a  monument  more 
enduring  than  granite ;  more  beautiful  than  marble ;  more 
majestic  than  the  shaft  on  Bunker  Hill.  It  requires  no 
pilgrimage  to  view  it  for  whenever  a  flower  blooms  it 
stands  enduring,  beautiful  and  majestic  in  the  presence 
of  every  citizen  of  the  United  States  into  whatsoever 
state  or  clime  or  country  he  may  journey.  These  floral 
tributes  fall  upon  the  graves  of  the  known  and  of  the  un- 
known from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other  today.  The 
flowers  will  wither  and  fade  but  not  one  single  beauty 
shall  be  lost.  Their  fragrance  floats  away  on  the  breeze 
but  every  tender  tint  and  every  breath  of  perfume  shall 
be  gathered  somehow  and  treasured  somewhere  and  shall 
reappear  in  equal  beauty  and  fragrance  hereafter.  So 
courage  and  patriotism  and  noble  deeds  of  those  who  die 
are  not  lost  but  are  gathered  and  treasured  from  age  to 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  155 

age  in  the  store  house  of  history  for  the  use  of  all  men. 
And  so  the  world  is  led  onward  and  upward  to  higher 
and  better  planes  of  action  and  enjoyment  and  so  it  shall 
be  led  until  the  breaking  light  of  the  millennial  glory 
shall  meet  its  "enrapitured  vision. 


156  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ADDRESS  AT  NEWMAN,  ILLINOIS 

JULY  4,  1883 

FELLOW  CITIZENS: 

I  am  glad  to  meet  you  here  on  this  happy  occasion, 
Happy  to  us,  and  to  all  mankind.  For  unto  those  who  are 
still  denied  the  enjoyment  of  their  natural  and  inalienable 
rights  and  liberties,  the  existence  of  this  nation  is  both  a 
promise  and  prophecy  of  ultimate  liberation  from  eo- 
clesiasical  and  political  oppression.  I  return  you  hearty 
thanks  for  the  kind  invitation  extended  to  me  to  be  with 
you  to-day,  and  shall  attempt  to  discharge  the  duty 
which  devolves  upon  me  at  this  hour  faithfully,  exercis- 
ing the  rights,  and  bearing  the  responsibilities,  of  our 
common  citizenship.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  a  Fourth 
of  July  oration  should  consist  of  fine  talk  without  ideas, 
and  without  the  discussion  of  any  principles  of  govern- 
ment. I  hold  that  on  this  day  set  apart  from  all  others, 
as  commemorative  of  the  birth  and  continued  existence  of 
our  nation  it  is  both  right  and  entirely  proper  to  consider 
and  discuss  those  cardinal  political  principles  which  un- 
derlie our  political  institutions,  and  distinguish  them 
from  the  political  institutions  of  other  lands,  and  other 
people.  This  discussion  should  be  candid,  manly  and 
fair,  and  should  rise  above  the  plane  of  mere  partisan- 
ship. There  has  been  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  pure  parti- 
sanship infused  into  the  political  life  of  the  people,  and 
we  have  all  become  so  tainted  with  it,  our  judgments 
have  become  so  biased  by  it,  and  our  political  reasoning 
has  become  so  beclouded  with  the  prejudices  engendered 
by  our  partisan  contests,  that  is  is  somewhat  difficult  for 
any  citizen  who  mingles  in  these  contests  to  rise  into  the 
purer  atmosphere  of  American  citizenship  and  discuss 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  157 

political  questions  in  a  purely  national  tone  and  spirit. 
It  may  prove  equally  difficult  to  listen  in  the  same  tone 
and  spirit.  Let  us  for  a  few  moments  retrace  the  course 
of  our  national  history  and  gather  into  our  hearts  and 
memories  the  events  which  preceded  and  led,  like  the 
finger  of  destiny,  to  American  Independence  and  Nation- 
ality, and  which  have  made  it  one  of  the  glorious  facts  of 
history.  We  may  thus  catch  a  large  measure  of  the  spirit 
of  that  lofty  patriotism  which  rises  above  self  and  party 
and  takes  shelter  alone  under  the  shield  and  banner  of 
American  citizenship.  It  is  a  long  way  back  into  the 
ages,  to  the  springs  from  whence  the  idea  of  self  govern- 
ment came.  We  must  go  beyond  Yorktown,  beyond  In- 
dependence Hall,  beyond  Bunker  Hill  and  Lexington  and 
Concord.  We  must  cross  the  oceans,  and  in  the  mazes  of 
English  and  Continental  history  find  the  origin  of  our 
own.  The  thirty  years  war  between  the  Low  countries 
and  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  as  much  a  war  for 
.personal  liberty  as  was  our  own  revolution.  The  rise  of 
the  Dutch  Republic  involved  the  same  principles  of  human 
rights  and  freedom  of  conscience  that  are  formulated  in 
our  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  interwoven  into  our 
national  constitution  and  laws,  and  the  same  spirit  of  re- 
volt against  the  oppressive  exercise  of  authority,  attended 
the  separation  of  the  English  church  from  that  of  Rome, 
and  ran  through  all  the  controversies,  political  and  re- 
ligious, that  preceded  and  followed  the  separation.  For 
centuries  before  the  era  of  Independence,  English  liber- 
alism had  been  making  protests  against  the  divine  right 
of  Kings  to  rule,  and  wringing  concessions  from  the 
crown  in  favor  ,of  the  jjeople. 

Wherever  the  German  language  was  spoken  some 
tongue  had  been  babbling  of  a  measure  of  freedom,  for 
which  the  heart  sighed,  but  could  not  find,  under  the 
shadows  which  a  despotic  government  cast  over  all  the 
homes  of  the  Fatherland.  Ireland  oppressed,  desolated, 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

impoverished  and  ruined  by  the  hand  of  alien  power, 
was  crying  to  Heaven  and  earth  against  the  oppression 
under  which  it  languished,  and  for  the  freedom  for  which 
it  panted,  and  to  find  which  its  sons  had  become  volun- 
tar}-  exiles  in  every  land  beneath  the  sun.  In  France,  the 
same  spirit,  like  sightless  Samson,  had  become  a  blind 
fury,  and  in  its  mad  attacks  upon  those  who  wielded 
power  in  such  a  manner  that  the  people  were  denied 
their  natural  and  inalienable  rights,  it  desolated  that 
fair  land  with  misguided  and  destructive  revolutions. 
Fearful  crimes  were  committed  in  the  scared  name  of 
liberty,  yet  despite  the  crimes,  humanity  continued  its 
onward  march  toward  the  free  civilization  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

It  was  from  this  political  ferment  in  the  countries 
of  the  old  world ;  from  this  ceaseless  protest  against  des- 
potic power;  from  armed  contests  between  oppressor  and 
oppressed;  from  the  agitation  of  radical  thinkers  who 
concluded  that,  politically,  man  had  a  right  to  live,  be 
free,  and  to  seek  happiness  in  his  own  way,  provided  he 
infringed  upon  the  right  of  no  other  member  of  society, 
and  that,  religiously,  he  had  the  right  to  worship  God  in 
such  manner  as  his  own  conscience  might  approve;  that 
a  people  was  pre|>ared  to  plant  a  new  form  of  govern- 
ment, to  be  administered  in  a  new  spirit,  upon  the  un- 
peopled lands  of  America;  and  it  was  this  people  so  pre- 
pared, who,  in  toil  and  sacrifice,  in  struggle  and  conflict, 
through  battle  and  blood,  laid  broad  and  deep  the  foun- 
dations upon  which  our  political  edifice  has  been  reared. 
This  people  was  not  homogeneous  either  in  language> 
politics,  religion  or  civilization.  It  had  within  itself  the 
elements  of  future  conflict,  and  these  were  intensified  by 
the  circumstances  attending  its  settlement  in  America. 
England,  France,  Germany  and  Spain  were  all  seeking 
dominion  in  the  New  World.  To  secure  it  they  each 
planted  colonies  to  which  they  encouraged  emigration 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  159 

by  promises  of  wealth  and  a  large  measure  of  liberty. 
Thither  came  adventurers,  speculators,  Lords  and  im- 
pecunious Noblemen  of  all  grades  and  from  all  nations. 
Thither  also  came  those  who  valued  liberty  and  freedom 
of  conscience  more  than  lands,  gold  or  titles.  Over  these 
colonies  the  home  governments  exercised  proprietary 
rights  and  authority.  They  followed  them  inter  the  wil- 
derness with  Royal  Governors,  Secretaries  and  Councils, 
deriving  their  authority  from  an  Emperor  or  a  King  who 
knew  next  to  nothing  of  the  condition,  wants  and  neces- 
sities of  the  people  to  be  governed.  While  the  colonies 
were  weak  the  exercise  of  authority  over  them  was  usual- 
ly mild  and  humane  with  a  tendency  to  foster  and  en- 
courage their  growth  and  prosperity.  The  right  to  make 
and  keep  them  dependent  upon  the  governing  power  was 
always  claimed,  and  such  measures  as  tended  ir.  that  di- 
rection were  often  adopted. 

The  English  colonies  gathered  strength  and  increased 
in  population  and  wealth  faster  than  any  others.  They 
absorbed  the  Dutch  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  beat 
back  the  French  from  the  Atlantic  coast  and  confined  the 
Spaniard  to  Florida.  They  were  fast  becoming  an  Em- 
pire in  themselves.  They  had  grown  to-be  three  millions 
of  people,  largely  of  English  and  German  origin.  A  ma- 
jority of  them  had  either  emigrated,  or  were  descendants 
of  those  who  had  emigrated  to  America  because  of  some 
right  denied  them  in  the  land  of  their  nativity.  They 
professed  loyalty  to  the  Crown  of  England,  but  were  in- 
stinctively reaching  out  toward  independence.  Every 
city  built,  every  town  laid  out,  every  encroachment  upon 
the  wilderness  and  every  cabin  on  the  frontier  was  a  step 
toward  independence,  never  to  be  retraced.  Every  mill 
or  factory  built  in  which  to  make  their  own  clothing  or 
household  goods,  or  the  tools  and  implements  with  which 
to  prosecute  their  ever  increasing  and  diversifying  in- 
dustries, was  a  milestone  on  the  highway  along  which 


160  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

they  were  traveling  toward  an  independent  position 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  England,  then  as  now, 
was  a  manufacturing  country,  and  its  gains  were  largely 
derived  from  its  manufactured  goods  produced  by  skilled 
labor  at  home,  and  sold  in  its  dependencies  abroad. 
It  was  by  this  means  that  it  sustained  its  dense  popula- 
tion. America  promised  a  large  market,  and  the  policy 
of  the  government  was  to  preserve  this  market,  by  the 
suppression  of  all  colonial  manufacturing  industries. 
The  rapid  march  of  the  colonies  toward  independence 
must  be  called  to  a  halt,  and  the  colonist  must  be  made  to 
feel  that  he  is  dependent. 

By  acts  of  Parliament  all  manufacturing  interests  in 
the  colonies  were  burdened  by  taxes  and  duties,  while 
English  goods  were  admitted  free  and  sold  at  high  prices 
to  the  consumer.  The  most  careful  observer  can  discover 
no  difference  in  the  relative  interest  of  the  two  countries, 
then  and  now.  Before  independence,  England  sought  to 
put  out  the  furances  and  stop  the  whirling  spindles  of 
America  by  acts  of  Parliament.  It  now  seeks  the  same 
end  by  the  plausible  fallacy  of  free  trade  and  direct  tax- 
ation. 

The  attack  upon  the  colonial  manufacturing  interest 
had  a  tendency  to  consolidate  the  people  of  the  colonies 
into  oneness.  An  interest  common  to  all  of  them  was  en- 
dangered, and  they  urged  against  that  danger  a  common 
defense.  Then  came  ship  loads  of  taxed  tea  which  went 
into  Boston  Harbor,  and  upon  which  the  taxes  were  never 
paid.  Then  the  stamped  paper  which  the  people  refused 
to  use  because  their  common  demand  for  representation 
in  the  law-making  branch  of  the  government  had  been 
denied  them.  Other  acts  followed  which,  in  principle, 
infringed  their  rights  as  freeman,  and  .reminded  the 
Americans  of  their  dependent  position.  Then  came  sol- 
diers for  the  purpose  of  teaching  them  by  force  the  doc- 
trine of  submission.  Closer  and  closer  did  these  acts  of 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  161 

oppression  bring  and  bind  the  people  together.  Colonial 
committees  of  safety  grew  into  a  Continental  Congress  as 
naturally  as  effect  follows  cause.  After  Lexington  and 
Concord  the  minute  men  and  militia  of  the  towns  crystal- 
lized into  a  continental  army,  and  fought  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  without  any  act  of  Congress  or  any  other 
law  except  that  of  the  necessities  and  dangers  which 
menaced  all  alike.  It  was  not  the  war  of  Massachusetts, 
but  the  war  of  the  people  in  defense  of  the  people. 

I  know  that  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  it 
is  assumed  that  the  colonies  are  and  of  right  ought  to  be 
sovereign  and  independent  States.  It  was  only  an  as- 
sumption. It  never  was  a  fact.  Not  a  single  colony  or 
state  ever  was  either  sovereign  or  independent.  The 
people  of  all  the  States  together  were  alone  sovereign, 
and  the  States  each  leaned  upon  all  the  others  for  its  life 
and  being.  I  know  that  a  great  deal  has  been  said  by 
politicians  and  statesmen,  and  even  by  jurists  about 
State  sovereignty.  Many  good  citizens  have  been  mis- 
led and  confused  by  the  use  of  the  term.  During  the  war 
for  independence  articles  of  confederation  were  entered 
into  between  the  States,  and  this  confederation  has  been 
called  the  bond  which  held  the  Union  together  prior  to  the 
constitution.  It  was  a  rope  of  sand  which  held  nothing 
together.  The  war  of  England  was  not  made  upon  States. 
It  was  waged  against  the  American  people  and  against 
American  nationality,  and  it  wras  the  people  and  their  im- 
periled nationality  that  carried  on  the  defense,  and  made 
the  revolution  successful.  This  was  the  bond  of  union 
and  the  only  one.  After  our  nationality  was  acknowl- 
edged, an  effort  was  made  to  carry  on  the  government  on 
the  "sovereign  and  independent  States"  theory,  which 
resulted  in  failure.  The  whole  structure  seemed  to  be  go- 
ing to  pieces,  and  some  stronger  bond  must  be  found; 
some  more  perfect  union  formed  or  all  would  soon  be  lost. 
Eeserving  to  the  States  all  of  their  just  rights  and  declar- 


162  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

ing  all  sovereignty  to  be  inherent  in  the  people,  the  whole 
people  of  the  United  States  ordained  a  constitution,  in 
which,  by  virtue  of  their  inherent  sovereignty,  they  or- 
dained that  such  constitution  and  the  laws  made  in  pursu- 
ance thereof  should  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  any- 
thing in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  a  State,  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding.  That  constitution  is  the  law  of 
the  people  and  not  of  the  States.  It  is  the  idea  of  national- 
ity formulated.  Not  so  clearly  as  it  might  have  been  done 
but  still  clearly  enough  not  to  be  mistaken,  except  by 
those  who  are  enemies  to  that  strength  of  government 
which  nationality  gives.  In  the  settlement  of  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America,  two  distinct  and  diverse  civili- 
zations may  be  easily  traced.  They  may  be  represented 
by  Plymouth  and  Jamestown.  Plymouth  was  that  of  a 
pure  Democracy  in  which  every  citizen  had  an  equal  vote 
and  voice  with  every  other  citizen,  in  the  determination 
of  all  public  questions  and  business.  Its  two  distinctive 
features  are  the  "Town  Meeting"  in  which  every  one  has 
a  voice,  and  the  decision  of  the  majority  is  the  law  to  all, 
and  the  common  school  in  which  every  child  of  the  State 
has  an  equal  chance  to  acquire  an  education  that  will  en- 
able it  to  become  an  intelligent  and  useful  member  of  the 
body  politic.  It  has  traveled  westward  almost  on  paral- 
lels of  latitude,  and  impressed  itself  as  the  controlling  ele- 
ment of  society  and  politics  in  what  were  formerly  called 
the  ' '  Free  States. ' '  Its  tone  of  equality  made  it  the  nat- 
ural and  irreconcilable  enemy  of  human  slavery.  It  was 
a  reformer,  an  agitator,  a  free  talker,  a  free  thinker  and 
a  troubler  of  the  waters  generally. 

Jamestown  was  undemocratic.  It  sought  to  transfer 
English  aristocracy  to  the  forests  of  America.  At  the  top 
of  its  social  and  political  existence  were  Lords  Balti- 
more. Fairfax,  Berkley  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  with  his 
splendid  schemes  for  imperial  government  in  the  Caro- 
linas.  At  the  bottom  was  the  African  slave  and  the  poor 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  163 

white  man.  It  was  strength  and  weakness,  intelligence 
and  gross  ignorance  grouped  in  a  single  social  structure. 
Its  westward  progress  was  on  parallels  of  latitude  south 
of  Plymouth.  In  southern  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and 
northern  Missouri  the  two  civilizations  flowed  together 
and  created  friction.  Jamestown  was  crowding  toward 
the  north  and  Plymouth  toward  the  south.  Each  wanted 
territory.  Each  wanted  power.  In  1820  they  contended 
for  Missouri  so  earnestly  as  to  threaten  the  existence  of 
the  government.  Jamestown  won  Missouri  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  which  fixed  a  line  of  separation  between  the  two 
to  the  westward  of  Missouri.  The  Mexican  war  of  1847 
ended  in  the  acquisition  of  a  large  territory  out  of  which 
California  was  carved  in  1850.  California  was  the  key 
which  gave  possession  to  all  the  Pacific  coast,  and  the  con- 
test as  to  which  should  have  it  was  a  very  bitter  one.  The 
people  of  California  were  permitted  to  determine  the  ques- 
tion by  ballot,  and  Plymouth  won.  From  1801  to  1860 
Jamestown  had  substantial  control  of  the  national  govern- 
ment, and  in  1854  by  an  act  of  Congress  removed  the  line 
of  separation,  which  had  been  fixed  west  of  Missouri  in 
1820.  A  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska followed,  which  baptized  the  soil  of  both  these 
new  States  in  the  blood  of  both  civilizations.  In  the  end 
Plymouth  won  both  States  and  dedicated  them  to  free 
labor,  free  speech  and  the  equality  of  men. 

In  1860,  the  civilization  of  Plymouth  elected  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  president.  Then  came  the  last  and  greatest 
conflict  which  was  to  determine  forever  the  question  of 
supremacy  between  the  two  civilizations  in  the  whole 
country.  The  civil  war  of  1861  was  no  sudden  outburst 
of  passion.  It  was  no  quick  flame  of  rebellion.  It  was  a 
war  arising  from  causes  adequate  to  produce  war.  It 
had  been  long  coming,  but  its  coming  was  sure.  Its  foot 
had  been  upon  our  soil  for  centuries,  and  every  one  of  its 
fields  of  conflict  had  been  mapped  out  when  the  national 


164  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

constitution  was  adopted.  Theoretically  it  could  have 
been  avoided.  If  Jamestown  had  made  all  men  equal, 
and  become  as  democratic  as  Plymouth  the  solution 
might  have  been  peaceful.  This  it  could  not,  and  would 
not  do,  until  it  suffered  defeat  on  the  stricken  field. 

The  southern  civilization  adhered  to  the  colonial 
theory  of  the  independence  and  sovereignty  of  each 
State,  and  that  it  had  the  power  to  determine  for  itself 
when  its  rights  were  infringed  or  endangered  by  the 
national  government,  and  also  the  right  to  determine 
for  itself  the  measure  and  mode  of  redress  in  such  a  case. 
This  theory  served  as  a  cover  under  which  to  attack  the 
national  authority,  now  placed  by  the  people  in  other 
hands.  It  was  a  lure  by  which  the  citizen  was  led  to  re- 
nounce his  allegiance  to  the  nation,  and  follow  the  for- 
tunes of  his  State  in  a  desperate  struggle  for  the  preser- 
vation of  that  form  of  society  to  which  he  was  attached 
by  lifelong  association  and  interest.  It  justifies  tho  acts 
of  secession  by  which  State  after  State  attempted  to 
withdraw  from  the  Union.  It  justifies  the  levying  of 
actual  war  against  the  national  authority.  It  was  sin- 
cerely believed  in  and  sincerely  acted  upon.  It  was  as 
much  the  inspiring  thought  of  one  side  of  the  war,  as  na- 
tional unity  was  of  the  other  side.  But  it  went  down  in 
the  war  which  it  began  for  its  own  aggrandizement,  and 
it  is  now  conceded  by  all  intelligent  and  fair  men,  out- 
side the  dominion  of  a  very  narrow  partisanship,  to  be  an 
exploded  heresy,  which  has  no  proper  place  in  American 
politics  or  statemanship. 

Now  turn  we  to  the  results  of  this  effort  at  self- 
government  in  America.  A  continent  has  been  trans- 
formed from  a  wilderness  into  a  garden  of  plenty  and 
beauty.  A  savage  population  has  retired  from  the  At- 
lantic coast  until  the  remnant  of  it  is  shut  up  in  the 
mountain  fastnesses  of  the  west.  Its  retreating  footsteps 
have  been  followed  everywhere  by  the  advance  of  civili- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  165 

zation,  and  when  the  advance  and  the  retreat  have  come 
together  there  has  been  war.  These  frontier  contests 
have  developed  some  of  the  strongest  characters  in  our 
history — men  whose  courage  is  an  example  and  an  in- 
spiration to  courage  in  others,  in  all  future  time.  With 
the  acquisition  of  independence,  the  power  to  legislate 
in  relation  to  manufactures  was  transferred  from  the 
English  Parliament  to  our  own  Congress  and  domestic 
manufactures  wrere  encouraged,  promoted,  and  protected. 
Tariffs  were  levied  upon  foreign  imports  which  protected 
the  American  manufacturer,  and  the  laborer  from  ruin- 
ous competition  with  foreign  manufacturers  and  laborers. 
American  industries  at  once  revived,  and  have  increased 
in  importance  from  that  day  to  the  present.  Manufactur- 
ers have  so  increased  and  diversified,  that  we  are  abso- 
lutely independent  of  any  foreign  country  for  manufac- 
tured goods, while  our  own  find  a  market  in  every  civilized 
country  in  the  world.  Factories  are  not  confined  to  any 
section.  The  busy  wheels  and  spindles  make  music  and 
wealth  in  every  city,  county  and  village  of  the  Union. 
The  labor  of  a  people  is  its  greatest  wealth.  It  is  all  the 
laborer  has  to  sell,  and  that  country  which  gives  him  the 
best  market  for  his  labor  is  the  best  for  him.  This  coun- 
try leads  the  world's  labor  market.  Here  the  laborer  is 
better  paid,  better  fed,  better  clothed  and  housed  than  in 
any  other  country,  for  the  reason  that  labor  is  better  pro- 
tected by  law.  But  I  cannot  argue  or  theorize;  I  point 
to  three  facts  and  defy  all  theories.  The  first  fact  is  pro- 
tection. The  second  fact  is  the  growth  and  condition  of 
American  industries.  The  third  fact  is  the  liberal  wages 
paid  to,  and  the  prosperous  condition  of  American  labor. 
The  great  waterways  have  been  so  improved  as  to 
make  navigation  as  safe  as  it  can  be,  and  the  vessels 
which  navigate  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  country  are 
numerous  and  capacious  enough  to  answer  all  the  de- 
mands of  our  extensive  commerce. 


166  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

Railroads  belt  the  continent  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
and  reach  out  their  long  iron  arms  across  the  rivers,  over 
mountain  ranges  and  under  them;  through  valleys  and 
plains  until  every  part  of  the  country  is  linked  and  bound 
together  by  them.  Along  these  railways  in  all  their  course 
are  villages,  towns  and  cities,  like  pearls  strung  on 
threads  of  gold.  Over  them  the  great  herds  of  the  west 
and  cattle  of  a  thousand  hills  are  sent  flying  to  market, 
and  the  wheat  and  corn,  rye  and  oats  and  barley,  and 
other  products  of  a  million  fields  flow  like  rivers  of  gold 
and  silver  to  every  place  where  demand  requires  supply. 
Raw  material  and  manufactured  goods  are  carried  in  the 
same  way  with  a  speed  and  cheapness  unknown  in  any 
other  age  or  country.  Travel  is  easy  and  almost  instant- 
aneous and  the  intercourse  thus  brought  about  between 
the  different  sections  of  the  country,  has  broadened  and 
elevated  the  views  of  all.  It  destroys  provincialism  and 
builds  up  nationality.  IJuder  its  influence  the  "State 
policy  "which  once  controlled  the  State  of  Illinois  has  per- 
ished, and  the  memory  of  it  excites  wonder  that  men 
could  live  and  breathe  the  air  which  sweeps  across  these 
broad  prairies,  and  yet  entertain  such  contracted  political 
views. 

The  telegraph  runs  by  the  railroad  and  outstrips  it. 
Its  wires  checker  the  whole  land  and  then  do  not  stop. 
They  run  upon  a  hidden  path  under  the  oceans,  and  on 
the  other  shore  spread  out  like  the  web  of  a  giant  spider, 
over  three  continents.  Over  and  along  these  wires  the 
busy  lightning  carries  the  thought  and  passing  history  of 
the  world.  It  carries  messages  of  friendship,  love,  busi- 
ness, and  news  from  village  to  villa.ge,  from  city  to  city, 
from  State  to  State,  from  continent  to  continent.  It  fa- 
cilitates and  promotes  the  business  of  the  world  beyond 
estimate.  It  is  the  lightning  pony  express  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  167 

The  telephone  with  its  power  to  transmit  the  sound 
of  the  human  voice  a  thousand  miles,  follows  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  telegraph. 

Electric  lights  flash  out  like  midnight  suns  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  country,  and  give  promise  of  a  rev- 
olution in  the  matter  of  lighting  the  houses  of  the  people. 

The  sickle  and  the  scythe  have  been  supplanted  by 
the  Reaper  and  Mower  which  sweep  over  the  field  and  the 
meadow  almost  without  the  toil  of  man. 

The  flail  and  the  tramping  feet  of  horses  and  oxen 
have  gone  forever  from  the  " threshing  floor"  and  the 
Separator  driven  by  steam,  stands  where  they  beat 
their  weary  round,  separating  and  cleaning  a  thousand 
bushels  a  day. 

The  wooden  plow  of  the  fathers  has  departed,  and 
the  farmer  turns  his  furrows  with  shining  steel.  The  bar 
share,  the  bull  tongue  and  single  shovel  are  placed  on  the 
retired  list,  to  be  replaced  by  double  plows  and  culti- 
vators that  do  double  the  work  of  their  predecessors 
and  do  it  easier  and  better. 

The  hay  fork  man  is  generally  a  fraud,  but  the  fork 
that  lifts  a  shock  of  hay  to  the  top  of  a  stack  at  one  bite 
is  worthy  to  succeed  the  long  handled  back  breaker,  with 
which  our  fathers  used  to  pitch. 

The  sewing  machine  has  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 
needle  woman  and  does  the  work  of  a  day  in  a  single 
hour.  In  every  department  of  industry  improvement 
has  kept  pace  with  those  which  I  have  mentioned  and  no 
where  else  on  earth  are  the  people  so  well  equipped  for 
their  labor  as  they  are  in  the  United  States,  and  all  their 
equipments  are  the  inventions  of  American  brain  and 
the  product  of  American  industry. 

s  The  people  themselves  in  their  homes  and  places  of 
business,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  liberties,  in  the  pur- 
suit of  that  happiness  which  the  human  heart  dreams 
of  and  sighs  for,  present  the  grandest  picture  the  human 


168  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

eye  ever  rested  upon.  They  tread  ten  thousand  paths  of 
honest  industry,  they  plow  a  million  fields  and  sail  a 
million  ships.  Their  heavy  tramp  is  heard  in  the  streets 
of  magnificent  cities,  and  of  the  villages  which  dot  the 
land  from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf. 
They  fly  with  the  speed  of  the  wind  along  the  railroads 
to  the  east,  west,  north  and  south  and  to  every  point  of 
the  compass  between  these  cardinal  ones.  They  worship 
at  ten  thousand  altars  and  from  ten  million  family  cir- 
cles. Great  cities  and  towns,  where  palaces,  cottages 
and  tene?nent  houses  are  crowded  together,  are  full  of 
them.  The  sea  shores  and  the  lake  shores  and  the  river 
shores,  the  hills,  the  mountains,  the  woodlands,  and  the 
prairies  are  speckled  over  with  their  homes.  Homes 
where  they  make  love  and  marry  and  are  born  and  die. 
Everywhere  are  the  school  houses  where  they  are  taught 
and  the  churches  in  which  they  worship.  Yet  in  all  this 
land  over  which  our  starry  flag  floats  there  is  no  law  or 
authority  of  the  State  compelling  any  one  to  perform 
any  religious  rite  or  service  whatever.  But  there  is 
everywhere  law  and  authority  of  the  State  which  pro- 
tects every  citizen  in  the  exercise  of  his  or  her  religion. 
The  State  protects  religion,  but  does  not  enforce  it. 

Again  every  man  under  the  flag  is  politically  the 
equal  of  every  other  man.  Every  citizen  stands  at  the 
ballot  box  with  equal  power.  The  law  comes  near  enough 
to  every  citizen  to  protect  his  person,  his  property  and 
his  reputation,  and  is  far  enough  from  him  to  leave  all 
his  physical  and  mental  powers  free  play.  After  more 
than  a  century  of  independence,  the  personal  rights  and 
liberties •  of  the  people  stand  on  a  broader  basis  of  se- 
curity than  they  did  at  the  beginning. 

Let  me  now  close  this  address  by  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  the  lesson  and  purpose  of  this  anniversary.  It  is 
the  birthday  of  a  nation,  one  hundred  and  seven  years 
old.  The  celebration  of  this  day  on  each  returning  year 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  169 

is  a  mounroent  of  that  fact  which  stands  forever  in  the 
presence  of  every  citizen  wherever  he  may  be.  He  must 
go  to  Boston  to  see  Bunker  Hill,  but  this  monument  he 
can. see  beneatli  any  sky  and  under  any  flag.  We  do  well 
to  celebrate  the  day.  We  do  well  to  recall  the  men  and 
the  history  of  the  past.  But  we  cannot  live  on  the  cour- 
age, patriotism  or  glory  of  the  past.  Our  fathers  left  us 
a  heritage  and  we  must  leave  it  again  to  others.  If  we 
wish  to  leave  it  still  richer  in  blessings  than  we  received 
it,  we  must  cling  closely  to  that  primary  truth  that  the 
intelligently  expressed  will  of  the  people  is  the  only  true 
source  of  political  power.  No  party  is  or  can  be  strong 
enough  to  suppress  the  voice  of  the  people.  The  duty  of 
demanding  a  fair  ascertainment  of  the  will  of  the  majori- 
ty attaches  both  to  parties  and  to  persons.  It  begins  in 
tho  home  of  the  citizen  and  follows  him  through  town 
meetings,  party  conventions  and  in  the  discharge  of  every 
other  political  duty.  It  is  a  duty  that  cannot  be  evaded. 
Let  us  each  strive  faithfully  and  intelligently  to  dis- 
charge the  high  duties  which  devolve  upon  us.  Let  ug  obey 
the  laws,  State  and  National ;  support  the  constitution  in 
letter  and  spirit,  and  in  peace  or  war  follow  the  flag  that 
floats  over  the  whole  country,  and  protects  in  every  land 
and  on  everv  sea. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH" 


ANNUAL  ADDRESS  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  STATE: 
BAR  ASSOCIATION 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  STATE  BAR 

CIATTON: 

We  are  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  discharging 
the  duties'  which  devolve  upon  us  as  officers  ami  members 
of  this  association.  The  constitution  requires  of  me  an 
address.  Before  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  that  du- 
ty, allow  me  to  return  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the 
honor  conferred  upon  me,  in  my  absence,  at  your  last 
meeting: 

This  occasion  does  not  demand  of  me  an  argument  in 
favor  of  civil  government  among  men,  or  an  essay  upon 
those  elementary  principles  of  law  which  form  the  foun- 
dations of  the  jurisprudence  of  all  civilized  nations,  what- 
ever the  form  of  their  political  government.  The  necessi- 
ty of  civil  government  is  so  evident,  and  has  such  abund- 
ant demonstration  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  in  the 
happy  condition  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  pro- 
tected by  constitutional  limitations  of  power,  and  se- 
cured by  law  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  necessary  civil  and 
political  rights,  that  whoever  questions  it,  should  be 
takeil  care  of  as  incompetent,  or  punished  as  a  criminal, 

The  elementary  and  universal  principles  of  law  are 
the  first  steps  which  the  lawyer  takes  in  his  professional 
career.  They  lie  at  the  threshold  of  his  professional 
life.  They  are  the  corner  stones  upon  which  he  must 
build  if  he  builds  either  safely  or  successfully.  The  books 
which  contain  them  are  the  first  that  he  reads  as  a  stu- 
dent. They  occupy  the  field  which  he  first  surveys  and 
explores.  If  these  first  principles  have  been  neglected 
by  any  of  us,  this  is  not  the  time  or  place  to  repair  the  ne- 


"ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  171 

'gleet.  These  are  paths  along  which  it  is  presumed  that  we 
have  passed  before  reaching  the  duties  of  the  present 
hour. 

Nor  am  I  called  upon  to  delve  tediously  in  the  vast 
mines  of  ancient  and  modern  legal  literature  which  exist, 
and  are  of  unmeasured  interest  and  worth  to  the  student 
of  jurisprudence,  for  maxims  and  gems  of  the  law,  to  be 
•strung  and  exhibited  like  the  tawdry  ornaments  of  an  ab- 
original chief. 

T  wish  to  discuss  in  a  practical  way  some  practical 
•questions  which  lie  within  the  scope  of  the  objects  and 
purposes  of  this  association,  as  set  forth  in  its  constitu- 
tion. This  association  ought  to  be  of  practical  use  to  the 
people  of  the  State,  in  making  good  laws,  and  directing 
wisely  the  growth  of  the  system  of  jurisprudence  under 
•which  the  people  are  to  live,  and  by  which  the  vast  and 
evor  growing  interests  of  this  great  State  are  to  be  con- 
trolled, directed,  protected  and  stimulated  in  their  future 
growth  and  development. 

The  constitution  of  this  association  declares  that  the 
objects  of  its  organization  are: 

First.    To  cultivate  the  science  of  jurisprudence. 

Second.     To  promote  reform  in  the  law. 

Third-   To  facilitate  the  administraton  of  justice. 

Fourth.  To  elevate  the  standard  of  integrity,  honor 
and  courtesy  in  the  legal  profession. 

Fifth.  To  encourage  a  thorough  and  liberal  legal 
ed  a  cation. 

Sixth.  To  cherish  a  spirit  of  brotherhood  among 
the  members  of  the  legal  profession. 

The  science  of  jurisprudence  comprehends  a  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  rules  of  order,  or  conduct,  established  by 
authority  of  a  community  or  State,  for  the  control  and 
goxrernmpnt  of  its  inhabitants,  and  their  application  to 
the  controversies  which  arise  in  the  transaction  of  busi- 
ness, and  the  conduct  of  'the  individual  citizen.  It  em- 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

braces  al!  the  legal  relations  which  exist  beween  the  citi- 
zen and  the  community  or  State,  and  between  one  citizen 
and  each  and  every  other  citizen,  whether  such  relations- 
arise  out  of,  or  relate  to,  the  personality  of  the  citizen, 
or  the  property,  rights,  or  things  which  the  citizens  of  a 
community  awn,  use,  and  enjoy,  either  jointly  or  sever- 
ally. It  embraces  all  the  political  rights,  duties,  privil- 
eges and  obligations  of  the  citizen,  as  they  have  been 
established  by  constitutional  provisions,  fixed  by  statute, 
or  defined  by  jiidicial  construction.  These  rules  of  hu- 
man conduct,  of  which  the  science  of  jurisprudence  takes 
cognizance,  permeate  the  entire  body  of  society,  and  en- 
twine themselves  around  the  individual  citizen  in  every 
path  he  travels  in  pursuit  of  that  happiness  which  all 
hope  sometime,  and  somewhere,  to  find.  These  rules  are 
supposed  to  originate  in  reason,  and  to  have  some  correct 
principle  for  a  foundation.  The  science  of  jurisprudence 
undertakes  to  trace  them  to  the  fountains  of  reason,  from 
which  they  flow,  and  to  discover  the  foundations  of  prin- 
ciple upon  which  they  rest. 

The  student  of  this  not  very  exact  science  has  a  limit- 
less field  for  his  investigations.  The  sources  of  that 
knowledge  which  he  seeks  often  lie  far  away  or  deeply 
concealed.  They  extend  through  the  entire  domain  of 
history,  philosophy,  political  economy  and  religion;  but 
if  he  has  the  spirit  of  a  true  lawyer,  and  is  in  love  with 
his  chosen  profession,  and  takes  delight  in  the  philosophy 
of  the  law  which  he  seeks  to  know,  the  distance  or  con- 
cealment of  these  fountains  of  knowledge,  and  the  wide 
range  of  his  explorations,  will  only  add  zest  to  his  search 
for  them.  The  student  who  expects  any  considerable 
measure  of  success  and  satisfaction  in  this  pursuit  will 
be  disappointed  in  his  expectations  if  he  turns  aside  to 
drink  at  fountains  of  pleasure,  or  stops  to  dwell  in  castles 
of  indolence. 


ETHEtBERT  CALLAHAN  17S 

"The  world  is  nothing  but  a  mass  of  means* 
We  have  but  what  we  make.  Every  good 
Is  locked,  Ijy  nature,  in  a  granite  hand. 
Sheer  labor  must  unlock.    The  forests 
Do  not  fall  around  us  into  builded  homes 
Without  an  axe  or  arm." 

A  knowledge  of  the  general  principles  of  the  science 
of  jurisprudence  should  not  be  confined  to  such  citizens 
as  manage  causes  in  the  courts.  It  should  be  part  of  that 
elementary  education  which  the  community  or  State  of- 
fers to  all  its  citizens  in  the  public  schools.  The  Legis- 
lature of  each  State  'should,  by  law,  require  that  in  every 
public  school  there  shall  be  taught  an  outline  of  such  laws 
as  relate  to  persons  and  propert}^ — to  public  and  private 
rights  and  wrongs,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  organization 
and  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  by  which  the  laws  are  ad- 
ministered. Every  college  should  include  the  science  of 
jurisprudence  in  the  curriculum.  Without  this  general 
knowledge  of  the  laws,  the  citizen  is  not  fully  prepared 
to  discharge  the  public  duties  which  he  owes  to  the 
State,  or  to  understand  and  maintain  his  private  rights, 
or  to  meet  the  obligations  which  rest  upon  him  as  a  mem- 
ber of  society.  The  law  conclusively  presumes  that  every 
citizen  has  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all  the  laws  in  force  in 
the  jurisdiction  in  which  he  resides,  and  holds  him  re- 
sponsible for  the  same  measure  of  obedience  as  if  this 
knowledge  of  the  law  were  a  fact,  and  not  a  presumption 
only.  Whatever  the  State  can  do  toward  giving  to  the 
people  an  actual  knowledge  of  the  laws,  it  should  do. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Legislature  to  express  the  public 
laws  in  words  that  are  clear  in  their  meaning.  The  words 
of  a  new  statute  should  be  very  deliberately  and  carefully 
selected.  This  is  hardly  possible  under  the  present  mode 
of  preparing,  amending  and  passing  bills.  It  not  infre- 
quently happens  that  the  phraseology  of  a  statute  is  so  de- 
fective or  obscure  as  to  defeat  the  clear  intention  of  the 


174  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

Legislature.  The  recommendation  of  the  American  Bar 
Association  that  each.  Legislature  appoint  a  committee 
of  Senators  and  Representatives  "who  shall,  togetherr 
constitute  a  joint  standing  committee  for  the  revision  of 
bills,  before  their  final  passage,"  commends  itself  to  my 
judgment,  and  I  recommend  it  to  your  favorable  consider- 
ation. It  would  most  certainly  prove  a  "material  check 
to  a  growing  evil." 

Another  object  of  this  association  is  to  "promote  re- 
form in  the  law." 

The  law  is  never  stationary.    It  is  forever  growing 
and  forever  wasting.    If  it  were  reformed  to-day  until 
the  beauty  of  perfection  should  grace  it,  it  would  be  im- 
perfect to-morrow.    A  rule  of  law  useful  to-day  would  be 
useless  to-morrow;  and  a  rule  not  required  in  the  present, 
may  be  needed  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  future.    This 
necessity  for  change  is  often  the  cause  of  unnecessary 
and  mischievous  changes.    Especially  is  this  true  when 
legislation  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  men  unskilled  and  in- 
experienced in  the  science  of  jurisprudence.     Change  is 
not  necessarily  reform.    A  new  law  should  never  be  made 
until  after  a  careful  consideration  of  its  relation  to,  and 
effect  upon  existing  laws;  nor  unless  it  is  intended  to  reach 
some  desirable  end  that  cannot  be  reached  without  addi- 
tional legislation.  Nor  should  a  law  be  repealed  until  it 
has  been  tested  in  practice,  and  found  to  be  productive  of 
no  adequate  public  benefit.    Too  much  change,  too  much 
hasty  and  inconsiderate  legislation  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
lific sources  of  bad  laws.    Solon  bound  the  Athenians  by 
solemn  oath  to  obey  such  laws  as  he  should  make  for  a 
period  of  ten  years.    He  gave  them  a  code,  and  then  trav- 
eled in  foreign  countries  for  ten  years,  and  thereby  estab- 
lished a  world-wide  reputation  for  wisdom.    Modern  leg- 
islators might  learn  a  lesson  from  the  Athenian  Lawgiver 
without  following  too  closely  the  precedent  he  established. 


'  ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  175 

The  ordinance  of  1787  '"'For  the  government  of  the 
Territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  River 
Ohio, ' '  provided  that  judicial  proceedings  should  be  ac- 
cording to  the  course  of  the  common  law.  The  Territorial 
Legislature  afterward  enacted  that  the  common  law  of 
England,  so  far  as  the  same  was  applicable  and  of  a  gener- 
al nature,  and  certain  English  statutes  made  to  supply 
the  defects  of  the  common  law,  should  be  the  rule  of  deci- 
sion; and  should  be  considered  as  of  full  force,  until  re- 
pealed by  legislative  authority.  After  the  admission  of 
Illinois  into  the  Union,  the  same  provision  was  re-enacted 
by  the  State  Legislature,  and  is  still  in  force.  At  first,  all 
the  courts  were  at  sea  in  regard  to  what  portions  of  the 
common  law  were  or  were  not  locally  inapplicable.  Diffi- 
cult questions  arose,  and  naturally  drifted  into  the  Su- 
preme Court,  where  the  common  law  was  pruned  and 
trimmed  and  molded  by  judicial  construction.  The  Legis- 
lature immediately  commenced  a  process  of  patching  the 
common  law  by  statutory  enactments,  which  has  contin- 
ued to  the  present  time.  The  ground  work  of  the  common 
law  remains,  but  it  has  been  so  often  patched,  and  in  so 
many  places,  and  so  much  modified  by  judicial  construc- 
tion, that  it  takes  very  careful  examination  and  discrimi- 
nation to  determine  which  is  original,  what  has  been 
added  to,  and  what  eliminated  from  it. 

p]ncrland,  from  whence  we  transplanted  the  common 
law,  with  its  technical  actions,  and  its  courts  of  law  and 
chancery,  administering  justice  on  entirely  different  prin- 
ciples, has  outstripped  us  in  the  race  of  legal  reform.  It 
lias  recast  its  judicial  system,  abolishing  the  distinction 
between  courts  of  equity  and  of  law,  and  providing  that 
the  administration  of  justice  in  all  courts  shall  be  regu- 
lated by  the  principles  of  equity.  It  is  difficult  to  discover 
a  satisfactory  reason  why  we  in  this  country  cling  to  the 
technical  common  law  actions,  and  the  technical. rules  at- 
tached, and  belonging  to  them,  which  England  has,  in  sub- 


176~  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

stance,  thrown  overboard.  We  have  attempted  to  bend 
the  straight  lines  of  these  common  law  actions,  and  re- 
lieve suitors  from  the  hardships  which  arise  out  of  their 
technical  application,  by  statutes  allowing  amendments  in 
matters  of  substance  and  form  at  any  time  before  final 
judgment. 

This  is  a  step  forward.  It  is  a  concession  of  the  neces- 
sity of  reform.  It  is  an  acknowledgment  that  these  com- 
mon-law actions  came  to  us,  surrounded  with  technicali- 
ties that  amounted  to  a  denial  of  justice,  when  the  wrong 
form  of  action  had  been  brought,  or  some  technicality 
overlooked  in  bringing,  or  in  the  progress  of  the  right 
form  of  action.  It  is  a  confession  that  such  technicalities 
have  survived  too  long,  and  should  now  be  modified,  or 
entirely  swept  away.  But  it  is  not  the  reform  itself. 
Something  more  is  required.  That  distinguished  Ameri- 
can lawyer,  Hon.  David  Dudley  Field,  in  his  address  to  the 
American  Bar  Association  at  Chicago,  in  August  lastr 
said: 

"What  is  required,  and  what  must,  at  some  time  or 
other  be  undertaken,  is  a  treble  process — the  process  of 
elimination,  the  process  of  condensation  and  the  process  of 
classification. 

' '  This  performance  would  make  a  code,call  it  by  what 
ever  other  name  you  please.  That  such  a  work  is  the  in- 
evitable outcome  of  American  institutions,  I  am  confi- 
dent, and  I  beg  leave  to  commend  it  to  your  earnest  at- 
tention. Many  lawyers  are  frightened  by  the  idea  of  a 
code,  or  rather,  I  should  have  said,  by  their  idea  of  one. 
They  imagine  it  to  be  revolutionary;  something  that 
would  take  away  the  substance  of  what  they  are  accus- 
tomed to,  and  force  them  to  learn  a  new  system.  These 
persons  greatly  err.  It  surely  is  not  revolutionary  to  set 
in  writing  what  has  already  been  decided,  and  of  course 
has  been  spoken  or  written  by  somebody  somewhere.  It 
is  not  revolutionary  to  condense  the  utterances  that  have 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  177 

been  made  from  the  bench  in  hundreds  of  years.  It  is  not 
revolutionary  to  arrange  the  several  propositions  thus 
evolved.  No  spectre  is  here  to  frighten  anybody." 

During  the  century  that  has  elapsed  since  our  Rev- 
olution, the  laws  of  England,  and  of  Amerca  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  England,  have  gradually  gathered  to 
themselves  fragments  of  many  other  laws,  or  have  elabor- 
ated many  that  are  new,  until  at  last  we  see  spread  be- 
fore us  the  vast  conglomerate  of  today.  Let  us  collect 
and  bind  together,  in  their  appropriate  places,  what  we 
have,  and  then  we  can  the  better  tell  what  more  we  need." 

This  treble  process  of  elimination,  condensation  and 
classification  suggested  by  Mr.  Field,  is  one  of  the  urgent 
demands  of  the  present  hour  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  even 
though  the  present  system  of  practice  and  pleading  re- 
mains. Many  statutory  definitions  should  be  supplied. 
A  great  deal  of  law  that  has  been  made  by  the  courts, 
under  the  stress  of  necessity,  should  be  formulated  and 
condensed,  and  given  legislative  expression.  Statutes 
that  are  practically  obsolete,  and  rules  that  practice  has 
demonstrated  are  hindrances  to  justice,  should  be  elim- 
inated by  law,  rather  than  frittered  away  by  judicial  con- 
struction. An  instance  will  serve  to  illustrate  my  mean- 
ing. 

The  statute  provides  that  "  Jurors  in  all  criminal 
cases  shall  be  judges  of  the  law  and  the  fact."  This  stat- 
ute, in  clear  and  unequivocal  terms,  places  all  questions 
of  law  arising  in  every  criminal  trial  in  the  hands  of  the 
jury  alone.  Neither  the  profession  nor  the  people  have 
ever  been  satisfied  that  the  statutory  rule  was  safe  in 
practice,  and  it  has  not  been  followed.  It  is  universally 
overridden  by  the  court.  Instructions  have  been  asked 
and  given  in  criminal  trials  the  same  as  in  civil  causes. 
In  Schiiier  vs.  People,  23d  111.,  29,  it  is  said,  "It  is  proper 
and  usual,  and  even  the  duty  of  the  court,  if  requested  by 
either  party,  or  by  the  jury,  to  instruct  them  what  the 


178  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

law  is;  but,  it  was  the  design  of  the  statute  that  they 
should  not  be  absolutely  bound  by  such  instructions.  If 
they  can  say,  upon  their  oaths,  that  they  know  the  law 
better  than  the  court  does,  they  have  the  right  to  do  so. ' ' 

In  Davidson  v.  People,  90th  111.,  232,  it  is  said,  "It 
is  not  unreasonable  to  require  the  jury  to  say  they  know 
the  law  better  than  the  court,  before  they  disregard  its 
instructions. ' ' 

The  courts  accept  and  recognize  the  statutory  right 
of  the  jury  to  disregard  the  law  as  given  by  the  courts, 
but  they  have  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  warn  the  jury 
that  before  doing  so,  it  was  their  ' '  duty  to  reflect  whether 
from  their  habits  of  thought,  their  study  and  experience 
they  are  better  qualified  to  judge  of  the  law  than  the 
court. ' '  This  is  equivalent  to  saying  to  the  jury  that  they 
should  not  use  the  power  which  the  statute  has  placed  in 
their  hands  without  limitation  or  qualification. 
Would  it  not  be  a  real  "reform  in  the  law"  to  repeal  the 
statute  and  provide,  by  law,  that  the  jury  should  try  only 
issues  of  fact,  and  the  court  determine  all  questions  of 
law? 

The  great  inequality  of  punishment  meted  out  to 
offenders  of  the  same  class  in  different  parts  of  the  State, 
under  different  circumstances,  and  surrounded  by  dif- 
ferent influences,  seriously  raises  the  question  whether 
juries  should  ever  be  allowed  to  fix  the  punishment  for 
any  crime.  The  result  of  my  own  experience  and  observa- 
tion is- a  very  strong  conviction  that  in  all  criminal  trials 
the  jury  should  pass  upon  the  question  of  innocence  or 
guilt  alone,  and  that  all  punishment,  following  after  a 
verdict  of  guilty,  should  be  left  wholly  with  the  court. 

Whether  it  would  be  a  change  for  the  better  to  allow 
less  than  all  the  members  of  a  jury  to  return  a  verdict,  is 
still  a  question  open  for  discussion.  Every  verdict  is  the 
result  of  concession,  if  not  of  actual  compromise.  The 
rule  that  requires  entire  unanimity,  it  is  said,  places  it  in 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  179 

the  power  of  one  juror  to  defeat  the  judgment  of  eleven 
others,  and  force  them  to  a  verdict  which  is  unsatisfac- 
tory to  them,  or  to  a  disagreement.  If  ten  jurors  should 
agree  upon  a  verdict,  is  not  that  more  likely  to  be  a  just 
and  true  verdict  than  the  verdict  obtained  by  the  dicta- 
tion of  one  or  two  stubborn  or  corrupt  jurors?  On  the 
other  hand,  is  it  not  true  that  sometimes  a  minority  of 
jurors  alone  are  able  to  resist  public  clamor  and  popular 
prejudice,  and  prevent  their  invasion  of  the  jury  box  ? 

I  am  not  satisfied  that  the  change  would  be  beneficial 
or  even  safe.  Trial  by  jury  is  an  old  institution,  and  in- 
novations upon  it  should  be  made  with  care,  and  then 
only  such  as  will  tend  to  the  more  speedy  and  certain 
administration  of  justice.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  jury 
system  is  so  perfect  that  it  can  not  be  improved.  I  be- 
lieve that  means  can  be  devised  that  will  place  more  in- 
telligence and  more  knowledge  of  business,  and  the  law  in 
the  jury  box  than  is  usually  obtained  under  our  present 
system.  If  we  were  searching  for  inexperience  in,  and 
ignorance  of  the  duties  of  jurors,  we  could  hardly  hope  to 
find  a  better  plan  to  secure  them  than  we  now  have.  It  is 
legal  cause  of  challenge  if  one  called  as  a  juror  has  had 
recent  experience  in  the  duties  he  is  called  to  perform* 
The  jury  lists,  in  the  first  instance,  seldom  contain  the 
names  of  active,  successful  business  men.  If  called,  men 
of  this  character  generally  manage  to  get  excused  and 
escape  the  service.  They  have  too  much  personal  busi- 
ness, and  too  many  private  interests  in  hand.  They  have 
not  the  time  to  spare.  They  leave  jury  service  to  men 
whose  more  limited  education  and  business  ability  have 
placed  them  a  little  behind  in  the  race  of  life,  and  then, 
when  juries,  composed  of  men  unskilled  in  the  intricacies 
of  business,  render  unsatisfactory  verdicts,  they  are  loud 
in  their  criticisms,  and  indulge  in  unreasonable  denuncia- 
tion of  the  trial  by  jury.  What  we  want,  and  must  have, 


180  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

is  a  more  intelligent  selection  of  jurors  than  can  expected 
to  be  made  by  the  blind  goddess  of  Chance. 

The  diversity  of  legislation  in  the  different  States 
upon  questions  which  affect  the  business  and  people  of 
the  entire  country,  has  given  rise  to  many  serious  ques- 
tions and  inconveniences.  It  would  seem  that  upon 
all  questions  affecting  commerce,  and  the  agencies  by 
which  it  is  carried  on;  questions  of  marriage  and  divorce; 
the  execution  and  acknowledgment  of  all  instruments 
conveying  or  creating  liens  on  real  estate;  the  attestation 
and  probate  of  wills,  and  others  of  this  general  nature, 
uniformity  of  legislation  is  desirable  throughout  the 
country. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  "  American  Bar  Associa- 
tion'.' is  to  secure,  as  far  as  possible,  uniformity  of  legis- 
lation upon  such  general  subjects  as  I  have  indicated. 
A  distinguished  member  of  that  association  is  present, 
by  invitation,  to  represent  and  recommend  its  work,  and 
I  bespeak  for  him  a  careful  and  considerate  hearing, 
while  he  presents  the  plea  of  the  association  which  he 
represents  for  reform  in  the  law. 

The  " National  Bar  Association"  is  another  organi- 
zation, the  object  of  which  is  to  promote  the  unification 
of  the  laws  of  the  various  States  which  relate  to  matters 
in  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  a  common 
interest.  Its  purposes,  as  declared  in  its  constitution, 
are  in  substance  the  same  as  those  of  the  American  Bar 
Association. 

By  invitation  from  this  association  a  member  of  the 
National  Association  is  here  to  speak  for  it,  and  to  repre- 
sent its  purposes,  and  I  know  that  the  great  importance 
of  the  subject  will  command  your  attention. 

These  associations  are  each  National  in  their  organi- 
zation and  character,  and,  acting  in  conjunction  with  the 
State  bar  associations  and  with  local  bar  associations 
within  the  States,  they  may  accomplish  much  in  securing 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  181 

uniformity  of  legislation  upon  such  questions  as  may  be 
proper  subjects  of  unification. 

Another  object  had  in  view  in  the  formation  of  this 
association  was  to  "facilitate  the  administration  of 
justice. ' '  Mr.  Field,  in  the  address  from  which  I  have  al- 
ready quoted,  said: 

"We  are  a  boastful  people.  We  make  no  end  of 
saying  what  great  things  we  have  done,  and  are  doing, 
and  yet  behind  these  brilliant  shows  there  stands  a 
spectre  of  halting  justice,  such  as  is  to  be  seen  in  no  other 
part  of  Christendom.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  there  is  no 
other  country  calling  itself  civilized,  where  it  takes  so 
long  to  punish  a  criminal,  and  so  many  years  to  get  a 
final  decision  between  man  and  man.  Truly  may  we  say 
that  justice  passed  through  the  land  on  leaden  sandals. ' ' 

It  is  not  the  severity  of  punishment  that  deters  bad 
men  from  criminal  action  so  much  as  the  certainty  that 
some  punishment  will  follow  swift  on  the  heels  of  the 
crime.  In  criminal  prosecutions  every  delay  increases 
the  chances  that  the  guilty  may  escape,  or  adds  to  the 
burdens  which  persons  charged  with  crimes  they  have 
not  committed .  must  bear  in  defending  themselves  and 
maintaining  their  innocence. 

Litigation  in  civil  actions  is,  or  may  be,  so  prolonged 
and  expensive  as  to  amount  to  a  denial  of  justice. 
We  concede  this  much  when  we  undertake  to  "facilitate 
the  administration  of  justice."  How  shall  the  undertak- 
ing be  made  a  success?  How  shall  the  "leaden  sandals" 
be  removed,  and  justice  made  surefooted  and  swift? 

In  mechanics,  if  a  machine  moves  too  slow,  we  look 
out  for  means  to  accelerate  its  motion.  The  courts  of 
the  State,  in  which  all  judicial  power  is  vested,  consti- 
tute together  a  machine  for  the  administration  of  civil 
and  criminal  justice.  We  concede  that  it  moves  too  slowly 
It  moves  so  slow  that  we  undertake  to  "facilitate"  its 


182  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

motion.  Tbere  must  be  friction  or  clumsy  workmanship 
somewhere  in  the  machinery  itself.  If  so,  where  is  it? 

Shall  we  examine  it  a  moment  ?  Begin  with  the  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  courts,  where  a  large  majority  of  the 
small  controversies  arising  between  citizens  of  the  State 
originate  and  are  determined.  There  is  but  little  chance 
for  delay  here.  Court  is  always  open.  Return  days  are 
short.  Continuances  are  brief.  Changes  of  venue 
occasion  but  little  suspense.  In  this  court  of  the  people, 
the  suit  marches  on  in  a  plain,  simple  way  from  the  time 
it  commences  until  it  is  ended.  Appeals  lie  from  the  jus- 
tice courts  to  the  county  and  circuit  courts.  The  terms  of 
these  courts  are  usually  six  months  apart.  By  selecting 
the  court  to  which  his  appeal  is  taken,  the  appellant  ob- 
tains six  months*  of  delay,  and  twelve  months  if  he  can 
obtain  a  single  continuance.  Appeals  are  often  taken 
for  delay  alone.  Here  justice  puts  on  her  "leaden  san- 
dals," and  they  will  be  removed  only  when  appeals  are 
no  longer  the  occasion  of  unnecessary  and  vexatious  de- 
lays. 

The  next  piece  of  this  judicial  machinery  to  be  ex- 
amined is  the  county  court,  with  * '  original  jurisdiction  in 
all  matters  of  probate,  settlement  of  estates  of  deceased 
persons,  appointment  of  guardians  and  conservators,  and 
settlement  of  their  accounts;  in  all  matters  relating  to 
apprentices,  and  proceedings  for  the  collection  of  taxes 
and  assessments,  and  such  other  jurisdiction  as  may  be 
provided  for  by  general  law." 

Jurisdiction  has  been  provided  by  general  law  in 
misdemeanors,  and  a  large  class  of  civil  actions,  but  the 
law  terms  at  which  this  jurisdiction  may  be  exercised  are 
limited  in  most  counties  to  two  in  each  year,  so  that  when 
an  appeal  comes  up  from  an  inferior  court  it  usually  re- 
quires six  months  to  bring  it  to  trial.  Every  continuance 
of  any  cause  results  in  a  delay  of  six  months  more. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  183 

It  would  facilitate  the  administration  of  justice  to 
provide  by  general  law  that  the  civil  and  criminal  juris- 
diction of  the  county  courts  might  be  exercised  in  all 
terms.  It  would  facilitate  it  much  more  if  the  Legisla- 
ture should  provide  by  general  law  that  the  county  courts 
should  be  courts  of  general  jurisdiction,  and  have  con- 
current jurisdiction  with  the  circuit  courts  in  all  matters, 
criminal  and  civil.  Continuances  would  then  be  only 
for  such  time  as  should  be  necessary,  and  changes  of  ven- 
ue would  send  causes  to  a  court  that  would  be  ready  to 
try  them  within  a  month  at  the  farthest.  All  litigated 
causes  could  be  set  for  trial,  and  tried  at  the  time  set, 
without  the  enormous  expense  of  holding  witnesses  over 
from  day  to  day,  as  is  now  done  in  the  circuit  and  county 
courts.  Jails  would  not  fill  up  wih  prisoners  charged 
with  crime,  to.be  kept  for  months  at  the  expense  of  the 
county.  Punishment  would  overtake  the  guilty,  and 
vindication  be  afforded  to  the  innocent.  Every  person 
could  obtain  "by  law,  right  and  justice,  freely,  com- 
pletely and  without  denial,  promptly  and  without  delay. ' ' 
If  this  were  done,  should  the  circuit  courts  be  abolished  ? 
This  is  not  at  all  necessary.  Enough  circuit  judges  should 
be  elected  to  constitute  the  four  appellate  courts,  and  to 
hold  circuits  in  the  very  few  counties  where  the  volume 
of  business  is  so  great  that  the  county  court  and  the  pro- 
bate court  provided  for  in  the  constitution  can  not  take 
care  of  it.  The  circuit  courts,  where  the  most  vexatious 
and  expensive  delays  usually  occur,  would,  except  in  a 
few  large  cities  and  counties,  be  practically  eliminated 
from  the  judicial  machinery,  and  a  lawsuit,  when  com- 
menced, would  march  continuously  along  to  final  judg- 
ment, with  only  such  rests  as  should  be  necessary  to  pre- 
pare it  for  trial.  The  county  courts  would  be  elevated  to 
the  present  dignity  of  the  circuit  courts.  Men  of  eminent 
ability  and  legal  learning  would  be  placed  on  the  county 
bench.  All  records  of  judgments  and  decrees  affecting 


J84  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

real  estate  would  be  found  in  one  court  instead  of  in  two, 

But  little  complaint  has  been  made  of  delays  in  the 
appellate  courts,  and  I  submit  that  with  more  frequent 
sittings  of  these  courts,  and  the  entire  relief  of  the  judges 
from  circuit  duty,  there  would  be  no  delays  that  would 
constitute  any  .just  ground  for  complaint. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  State,  it  was  thought 
proper  to  have  the  Supreme  Court  hold  its  sittings  at  Ot- 
tawa, Springfield  and  Mount  Vernon.  There  were  rea- 
sons that  then  seemed  to  justify  this  opinion,  but  in  the 
wonderful  progress  and  changed  condition  of  the  State, 
they  have  passed  away,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  longer 
any  reason  why  the  migratory  character  of  that  court 
should  be  maintained.  If  its  sittings  were  in  this  city 
alone,  and  salaries  paid  to  the  judges  that  would  permit 
them  to  reside  here  during  their  terms  of  office,  the  busi- 
ness of  the  court  would  be  more  promptly  transacted. 
The  ability  of  the  judges  to  consult  together  at  all  times 
would  enable  the  court  to  reach  conclusions  promptly 
and  without  delay.  Opinions  could  be  read,  approved 
and  filed  as  soon  as  prepared.  The  court  might  be,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  in  perpetual  session,  and  its  work  in 
constant  progress.  Here  again,  by  the  change  I  have 
suggested,  the  administration  of  justice  might  be  facili- 
tated. 

I  am  aware  that  the  positions  here  taken  are  open 
to  attack  and  subject  to  hostile  criticism.  I  have  pre- 
pared no  defense  for  them.  I  have  said  nothing  intended 
to  disarm  criticism.  If  they  serve  to  provoke  others  to 
show  a  better  way  to  *  'facilitate  the  administration  of 
justice"  they  will  have  answered  the  purpose  I  have  in 
view  in  presenting  them. 

We  have,  in  our  constitution,  said  that  another  pur- 
pose of  this  association  is  to  elevate  the  standard  of  in- 
tegrity, honor  and  courtesy  in  the  legal  profession.  There 
is  certainly  no  profession  in  which  the  standard  of  these 


El'HELBERT  CALLAHAN 


sterling  virtues,  integrity  and  honor,  should  be  more 
elevated  than  in  the  legal  profession.  I  believe  that  in 
respect  to  these  qualities  of  character  the  lawyers  of  the 
United  States  may  safely  challenge  comparison  with  any 
and  all  other  professions  or  callings.  They  are  so  much  a 
lawyer's  capital  in  business  that  he  can  not  dispense  with 
them.  More  trusts  are  committed  to  his  keeping  than  to 
that  of  any  other  member  of  society,  and  the  betrayal  of 
a  trust  by  an  American  lawyer  is  so  rare  as  to  be  phe- 
nomenal. Misfortune  in  all  its  forms,  with  all  of  its 
tongues  and  voices  of  sorrow,  pain  and  despair,  pours 
its  confidences  into  our  ears,  and  they  are  sacredly  kept. 
The  oppressed  come  to  us  with  the  fitter  story  of  their 
wrong,  and  whether  they  bring  us  gold  for  a  fee,  or  come 
in  the  rags  of  penury,  our  services  are  faithfully  given, 
and  they  receive  such  redress  as  the  laws  award.  The  fu- 
gitive  from  the 'fury  of  the  mob  seeks  our  counsel  and 
protection,  and  we  stand  between  him  and  the  red-hot 
storm  of  evil  and  unreasoning  passion  by  which  he  is  pur- 
sued, and  save  him  by  putting  ourselves  in  peril.  The 
criminal,  with  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  reaching  after 
his  estate  to  satisfy  penalties,  or  thrusting  him  toward  a 
prison,  where  bolts  and  bars  would  separate  him  from 
liberty,  and  where  he  would  be  clothed  in  the  garb  of  dis- 
grace and  degradation,  or  threatening  to  lead  him  to  a 
gibbet,  appeals  to  us  and  receives  our  assistance.  How- 
ever hot  the  2eal  of  those  who  prosecute,  we  save  him 
from  punishment  beyond  the  measure  of  his  crime,  and 
the  judgment  against  him  is  tempered  with  mercy  in- 
stead of  being  embittered  with  malice  or  hatred.  The 
innocent,  whom  accident,  adverse  circumstances,  or  false- 
hood has  caused  to  be  accused  of  criminal  violations  of 
the  law,  bring  to  us  their  unfortunate  surroundings,  and 
we  listen  patiently  to  their  earnest  but  apparently  uncor- 
roborated protestations  of  innocence,  and  somehow,  a 
way  is  always  opened  for  their  escape  and  vindication. 


18*  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

In  all  the  important  business  affairs  of  life  men  are  lee! 
by  our  counsel  and  act  upon  our  advice.  We  write  their 
wills  and  distribute  their  estates  when  they  are  dead. 
We  drive  away  the  pack  of  "wolves  in  sheeps'  clothing, 'r 
who,  notwithstanding  the  homestead  exemption  lawsr 
"devour  widow's  houses." 

While  we  take  professional  pride  in  the  high  standard 
of  integrity  and  honor  of  the  bar,  we  are  still  painfully 
conscious  of  the  fact  that  a  few  members  of  the  profes- 
sion fall  far  below  the  high  standard  maintained  by  the 
American  Bar.  Let  such  be  only  examples  of  warning,, 
and  not  of  limitation. 

Courtesy  is  a  prime  virtue,  and  a  strong  weapon  in 
the  quick,  sharp  contests  of  the  lawyer's  occupation.  Its 
possession  upon  all  occasions  marks  the  mastery  of  the 
man  over  himself.  To  be  genuine,  it  must  be  inborn. 
Though  inborn,  it  requires  the  most  assiduous  and  pro- 
tracted culture.  Like  the  shield  of  the  Roman  soldier,  it 
should  be  borne  into  every  conflict,  no  matter  how  sudden, 
or  how  fierce.  Among  the  most  difficult  places  for  the 
lawyer  to  observe  that  high  degree  of  courtesy  which  gen- 
tlemen owe  to  each  other  on  all  occasions,  is  in  the  heated 
discussions  that  take  place  in  the  trial  of  causes  in  courts. 
Wrought  up  to  that  high  tension  which  every  lawyer 
feels  on  such  occasions;  engaged  in  an  intellectual  duel 
with  an  antagonist  under  like  excitement,  and  inflamed 
by  like  zeal;  realizing  that  the  issue  of  the  duel  is  to  be 
then  and  there  finally  settled,  he  may  allow  an  angry  pas- 
sion to  usurp  the  place  of  an  intellectual  effort,  and  in 
this  moment  of  weakness  an  uncourteous  word  or  phrase 
leap  from  his  tongue.  Any  one,  when  under  no  strain  of 
excitement,  can  select  his  words  and  moderate  his  tones 
in  courteous  measure.  It  is  the  strong  man  only,  who 
in  the  whiteheat  of  controversy,  when  every  passion,  is 
awake;  when  the  eye  flashes  out  the  fires  that  burn  in 
the  soul;  when  every  power  of  the  mind  is  aroused;  when 


ETHELfcERT  CALLAHAN  187 

the. battle  is  on,  and  the  contest  presses  hotly  forward, 
•can  thrust  and  parry,  and  parry  and  thrust,  in  courteous 
phrases,  and  flash  and  cut  like  a  blade  of  Damascus.  In 
all  our  forensic  contests,  thrusts  and  cuts  must  be  re- 
ceived as  well  as  given.  If  received  from  the  polished 
shaft  or  blade  of  courteous  though  keen  debate,  they 
heal  by  first  intention,  and  leave  no  scars;  if  received 
from  the  bludgeon  of  angry  words,  bitter  epithet  or 
coarse  personality,  the  wounds  are  contused.  They  heal 
slowly,  and  leave  ugly  scai*s  in  memory. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  public  life  of  the  lawyer  so 
little  understood  by  the  laity  as  these  public  disputations 
in  the  trial  of  causes  in  court.  They  appear  to  forget 
that  every  cause  has  in  fact  two  sides;  that  the  reasons 
which  lie  on  the  weaker  side  of  a  cause  are  just  as  legiti- 
mate as  those  which  lie  on  its  stronger  side;  that  in  many 
cases  the  reasons  on  either  side  are  so  evenly  balanced 
that  the  disputants  themselves  are  unable  to  say  which, 
if  either,  is  the  stronger  side;,  that  each  lawyer  is  con- 
fined in  his  employment  and  duty  to  one  side  of  the  case ; 
that  a  like  duty  as  to  the  other  side  of  the  case  is  upon 
the  other  of  the  disputants;  that  these  two,  together, 
carry  on  in  a  public  way  the  same  process  of  reasoning 
which  every  man  carries  on  in  his  own  mind  before  acting 
m  any  important  matter  connected  with  his  own  private 
business. 

These  disputations  are  absolutely  necessary,  though 
they  may  appear  unseemly  to  those  who  do  not  under- 
stand their  office  and  use.  They  are  the  retorts  in  which 
fraud,  falsehood  and  oppression  are  consumed,  and  the 
pure  gold  of  right  and  truth  and  liberty  is  refined  and 
purified.  They  are  trials  by  battle,  presided  over  by  the 
genius  of  reason,  and  in  which  justice  wins  more  and 
brighter  victories  than  upon  any  other  field  of  human 
action. 


188  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCff 

Lastly,  this  association  has  undertaken  to  build  up 
and  "cherish  a  spirit  of  brotherhood  among  the  members, 
of  the  legal  profession,"  On  its  success  in  this  undertak- 
ing depends  the  life  of  this  association,  and  its  past  and 
future  reputation.  In  a  measure,  every  man  is,  and  has- 
the  right  to  be,  selfish  in  the  objects  of  his  business  life. 
He  must  be,  and  is,  the  center  of  his  own  personal  world, 
his  home.  From  this  center,  all  of  his  interests,  duties, 
obligations  and  affections  radiate  toward  his  household, 
his  kindred,  his  neighbors,  his  town,  his  country,  State 
and  Nation.  The  lawyer  is  no  exception  to  this  rule,  but 
it  is  a  very  narrow  view  of  his  vocation  that  would  allow 
him  to  make  the  pursuit  and  practice  of  his  profession, 
wholly  selfish.  His  duties  lie  farther  out  from  his  per- 
sonal self  than  those  of  the  citizen  whose  occupation  is 
purely  private  and  personal.  He  professes  a  knowledge 
of  the  laws  which  quite  stand  as  sentinels  at  the  side 
of  every  citizen,  to  protect  him  in  obedience  to,  and  pun- 
ish him  in  disobedience  of  the  lawrs.  He  holds  himself 
to  the  public  as  an  arm  of  the  law,  to  aid  in  holding  even- 
ly the  scales  of  justice:  The  public  accepts  him  on  his 
profession,  and  trusts  him  accordingly. 

Knowing  the  law,  he  knows  its  imperff-ctness,  and 
when,  arid  where,  and  in  what  manner,  the  exigencies  of 
business,  and  the  advance  of  civilization,  require  new 
laws  to  be  made,  or  old  ones  modified,  amended  or  re- 
pealed. This  knowledge  belongs  to  the  public,  and  should 
be  utilized  for  its  benefit.  Every  citizen  owes  to  the  com- 
munity or  State  that  quality  of  service  that  he,  better 
than  others,  is  qualified  to  render.  If  the  lawyer  under- 
stands the  necessity  of  any  reform  in  the  law,  end  the 
means  by  which  such  reform  can  be  effected  better  than 
other  citizens  whose  knowlerl^o  and  skill  lie  in  other  di- 
rections, he  owes  a  corresponding  duty  to  the  public  to 
bring  about  the  needed  reform.  Public  measures  looking 
toward  reforms  can  only  be  carried  by  combination  and 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  189 

<co-operation;  by  unity  of  purpose  and  unity  of  action 
among  many,  or,  as  our  constitution  expresses  it,  by  cher- 
ishing a  spirit  of  brotherhood.  But  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  the  domain  of  a  brotherhood  which  seeks  to  confer 
public  benefits,  lies  outside  of,  and  beyond  the  central 
world  of  self.  The  spirit  of  such  a  brotherhood  may  well 
recognize  that  measure  of  selfishness  by  and  through 
which  each  one  provides  for  his  own;  but  it  reaches  out 
beyond  this,  and  still  on,  until  a  large  number  of  men, 
with  like  tastes,  or  pursuits,  or  interests,  are  united  in 
the  bonds  of  brotherhood.  This  is  the  spirit  which  this 
association  has  sought  to  evoke  among  the  lawyers  of 
Illinois.  It  sought  to  bring  them  together  to  discuss  the 
reason  and  philosophy  of  the  law,  and  compare  notes  as 
to  its  practical  operation  in  the  administration  of  justice. 
It  has  sought  to  lead  the  way  in  the  growth  and  symmetri- 
cal development  of  our  system  of  jurisprudence.  In  this 
work  it  has  been  at  least  partially  successful.  Many  pa- 
pers have  been  read  here  that  were  of  profound  interest 
to  those  who  heard,  or  have  read  them. 

Questions  of  great  public  interest  have  been  ably  and 
exhaustively  .discussed  before  this  association.  These 
discussions  have  tended  to  prepare  the  public  mind  for 
the  legal  reforms  which  they  foreshadow.  But  they  have 
not  been  as  influential  in  that  directon  as  they  should 
have  been,  and  one  reason  is  that  we  have  not  given  them 
as  wide  publication  and  circulation  as  was  necessary  to 
secure  their  proper  consideration  by  the  general  public. 
Another  reason  is,  that  we  have  not  been  as  aggressive  in 
presenting  such  measures  as  we  approve  and  recommend, 
to  the  Legislature,  and  urging  their  adoption.  We  have, 
possibly,  not  been  sufficiently  specific  in  formulating  the 
legislation  we  have  recommended.  We  have  not  taken 
care  to  place  in  the  Legislature  men  who  are  identified 
with  us,  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  our  work. 

We  must  recognize  the  conservative  forces  of  socie- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ty,  which  breed  caution  in  regard  to  all  proposed  changes 
of  established  customs  or  laws,  and  not  expect  results 
without  labor,  persistent  and  continued.  The  fact  thaty 
while  this-  association  has  met  with  neither  discourage- 
ment nor  opposition  from  others,  members  of  our  own  pro- 
fession have  been  exceedingly  reluctant  to  take  part  in 
its  deliberations,  and  in  the  discussion  of  legal  proposi- 
tions in  which  their  private  interests  are  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  their  public  duties,  has  given  our  executive 
committee  no  little  concern  in  regard  to  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess and  permanency  of  the  organization.  Some  lawyers 
who  habitually  complain  of  the  decline  of  legal  business, 
when  invited  into  this  service  have  found  the  earnestly 
desired  excuse,  in  business  engagements  and  want  of 
time.  This  has  not  been  wise  in  them,  even  from  the 
standpoint  of  selfishness.  It  enters  into  the  experience 
of  those  who  attended  these  annual  meetings,  and  partic- 
ipated in  them,  that  they  have  returned  to  their  offices 
better  equipped  for  the  discharge  of  their  professional 
duties.  The  bonds  of  professional  brotherhood  have  been 
lengthened  and  strengthened  by  their  enlarged  acquaint- 
ance with  members  of  the  profession  in  all  parts  of  the 
State.  Their  views  of  professional  duty  and  obligation 
have  been  improved.  The  standard  of  professional  char- 
acter has  been  elevated  and  dignified. 

Especially  is  this  so  in  the  case  of  young  men  who 
hope  for  much  and  expect  much  of  the  future.  For  them, 
if  they  so  will  it,  this  organization  has  in  store  opportun- 
ities, not  found  elsewhere,  of  improvement  and  promo- 
tion. To  the  young  lawyers  of  Illinois,  whether  here 
present  or  elsewhere,  I  will  say  that  this  is  the  hour  and 
the  occasion  of  great  opportunity  for  you.  You  cannot 
stand  still.  You  must  advance  with  the  civilization  that 
surrounds  you.  Other  professions  are  moving  rapidly  to 
higher  planes,  and  you  must  keep  abreast  with  them. 
You  should  lead  them.  All  other  professions  have  their 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  191 

organized  associations  for  mutual  improvement  and  ad- 
vantage, and  you  must  have  yours.  Fill  up  the  ranks 
of  this  association  and  in  the  unity  which  it  gives  you, 
you  will  find  strength.  Put  the  fresh  warm  blood  and 
active  brains  of  your  manhood  into  its  service;  cherish 
and  keep  in  your  hearts  the  living  spirit  of  a  true  brother- 
hood. Look  high  for  all  your  standards.  Assiduously 
cultivate  the  science  of  jurisprudence.  Carefully,  but 
witli  zeal  and  courage,  promote  every  reform  in  the  law 
that  promises  good  to  the  community  or  State.  Use  all 
your  professional  skill  and  knowledge  to  "facilitate  the 
administration  of  justice."  Demand  of  those  who  enter 
the  profession  a  "thorough  and  liberal  legal  education." 
Bear  aloft  in  public  and  private  life  the  standard  of  spot- 
less integrity,  unsullied  honor  and  knightly  courtesy. 
"Keep  innocence^  and  take  heed  to  the  thing  that  is  right; 
for  that  shall  bring  a  man  peace  at  last." 


192  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  AMER- 

CAN  BAR  ASSOCIATION: 

Your  professional  brethren  of  the  State  of  Illinois- 
are  happy  to  meet  you.  They  believe  that  you  acted 
wisely  in  coming  west  to  hold  this  meeting,  and  they 
earnestly  hope  that  the  occasion  will  be  one  of  pleas- 
ant memory  to  each  of  you  when  you  shall  have  returned 
to  your  respective  homes.  You  are  here  as  the  recognized 
representatives  of  the  Bench  and.  Bar  of  the  United 
States.  Your  association  is  a  voluntary  one,  resting 
wholly  upon  your  love  for  it,  and  devotion  to,  your  chosen 
profession.  Your  membership  in  this  association,  your 
presence  here,  are  evidence  sufficient  of  your  desire  to 
do  whatever  may  be  in  your  power  to  do  "to  advance  the 
science  of  jurisprudence,  promote  the  administration  of 
justice  and  uniformity  of  legislation  throughout  the  Un- 
ion, uphold  the  honor  of  the  profession  of  law,  and  en- 
courage cordial  intercourse  among  the  members  of  the 
Amorcan  Bar.'  With  these  high  purposes  of  your  asso- 
ciation, all  lawyers  are  in  sympathy,  and  should  be  willing 
to  .unite  in  organized  efforts  for  their  accomplishment. 

The  Illinois  Bar  Association  was  "formed  to  promote 
reform  in  the  law,  to  facilitate  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, to  elevate  the  standard  of  integrity,  honor  and  cour- 
tesy in  the  legal  profession,  to  encourage  a  thorough  and 
liberal  legal  education,  and  to  cherish  a  spirit  of  brother- 
hood among  the  members  thereof."  To  the  accomplish- 
ment of  these  ends  all  its  efforts  have  been  hitherto  di- 
rected. The  objects  and  aims  of  your  Association  and  ours 
are,  in  substance  and  in  spirit  the  same;  ours  confined  to 
Illinois,  yours,  in  its  broader  scope,  extending  through- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  193 

out  the  nation.  As  a  co-laborer  with  you,  the  Illinois 
Bar  Association  is  here  to  bid  you  a  cordial  welcome  to 
Illinois,  and  to  the  beautiful  city  which  an  American 
poet  has  appropriately  crowned  "  Queen  of  the  North 
and  AVest."  More  then  this,  it  is  here  to  furnish  you 
whatever  assistance  it  may  in  the  prosecution  of  your  la- 
bors at  the  present  meeting.  It  is  here  with  its  firm  faith 
in  the  ability  of  the  American  Bar  of  the  present  day  to 
reform  the  jurisprudence  of  the  state  and  of  the  nation, 
and  make  the  laws  of  the  future  better  than  the  laws  of 
the  past  or  present.  In  this  faith  it  looks  hopefully  to  the 
results  of  your  deliberations  at  this  meeting.  It  looks 
hopefully  forward  to  what  you  shall  hereafter  accomplish. 
It  hopes  for  the  present  advancement  and  final  success  of 
every  purpose  of  your  association  as  declared  in  your  con- 
stitution. The  science  of  jurisprudence  cannot  be  classed 
among  the  exact  sciences.  Its  conclusions  are  not  the  re- 
.  suits  of  mathematical  demonstration.  It  must  of  neces- 
sity be  progressive.  It  acquires  and  casts  off  at  the  same 
time.  Its  conservatism  preserves  all  the  law  that  has 
come  down  from  the  past  that  is  justified  by  right  and 
reason,  and  may  be  wisely  applied  to  the  present  stage 
of  our  civilization.  Its  radicalism  destroys  rules  of  law 
which  no  longer  rest  upon  right  or  reason,  or  are  no  long- 
er applicable  to  the  present  state  of  society.  It  requires 
knowledge  of  the  law  and  skill  in  its  application  to  the 
affairs  of  business  men  in  civilized  society  to  determine 
what  rules  of  the  common  law  should  be  preserved  and 
what  should  be  modified  or  repealed  by  legislation.  With- 
out such  knowledge  changes  in  the  law  do  not  necessarily 
reform  the  law  or  advance  the  science  of  jurisprudence. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  one  of  the  serious  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  legal  reform  in  the  states  is  the  refusal  of 
prominent  and  successful  members  of  our  profession  to 
serve  in  the  State  Legislature.  Successful  manufactur- 
ers, merchants,  railroad  men,  farmers,  and  business  men 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

generally,  in  a  like  manner  refuse,  and  state  legislation 
is  given  over  to  the  control  of  men  wlio  are  both  unlearned 
and  unskilled  in  the  science  of  jurisprudence.  Lawyers 
could  do  much  towards  removing  this  obstacle  by  con- 
senting to  render  the  state  a  service  for  which  the  mature 
and  experienced  lawyer  is  better  equipped  than  any  other 
member  of  society. 

"In  the  old  days  (a  custom  laid  aside, 
With  breeches  and  cocked  hats)  the  people  sent 
Their  wisest  men  to  make  the  public  laws. ' ' 
If  your  Association  shall  be  able  to  revive  this  cus- 
tom, if  you  shall  adopt  some  measure  that  will  send  into 
the  State  Legislature  men  who  know  what  the  laws  are, 
whose  knowledge  of  public  affairs  and  business  generally 
qualifies  them  to  say  wherein  the  laws  should  be  changed 
to  make  them  better,  you  will  have  discharged  one  of 
the  most  important  duties  devolving  upon  this  National 
Bar  Association,  and  upon  associations  of  like  character 
in  the  several  states. 

I  must  resist  the  temptation  to  discuss  or  make  fur- 
ther mention  of  matters  that  are  to  be  considered  by  you. 
I  concur  with  the  thought  expressed  by  one  of  your  mem- 
bers at  your  last  meeting,  that  by  putting  the  Association 
'on  wheels'  and  moving  west  you  make  it  appear  more 
national  in  its  character.  You  may  not  in  Chicago  have 
the  benefit  of  the  healing  waters  of  Saratoga,  but  you 
will  doubtless  find  beverages  sufficiently  refreshing  to 
sustain  you  during  your  labors  here.  Your  ears  may  not 
be  regaled  with  the  music  of  Saratoga's  world-renowned 
halls  of  pleasure,  but,  if  you  will  listen,  you  can  hear  the 
music  of  the  grand  march  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
the  glad  notes  of  ten  thousand  industries  flourishing  in 
the  northwest,  which  the  winds  bring  down  from  the 
mountains,  up  from  the  valleys,  across  the  prairies,  and 
over  the  lakes,  and  pour  through  the  streets  of  Chicago, 
like  some  grand  melocty  of  the  universe,  breathing  into 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  195 

our  national  life  a  new  measure  of  that  spirit  of  enter- 
prise and  progress  which  has  already  placed  this  nation 
in  the  front  of  the  march  of  modern  civilization. 

It  is  in  the  new  states  of  the  northwest  that  legal  re- 
forms are  most  easily  accomplished.  They  are  not  so 
much  bound  by  tradition  and  precedent.  They  are  more 
radical  and  less  conservative.  They  are  inclined  to  look 
to  the  future  more  than  to  the  past.  They  are  interested 
in  new  questions,  and  accept  new  ideals.  They  are  in 
their  formation.  They  can  build  the  new  without  tearing 
down  the  old.  Four  new  states  have  yet  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  their  system  of  jurisprudence.  In  these  states 
the  reforms  advocated  by  your  Association  may  be  pre- 
sented with  high  hopes  of  success.  They  will  receive  con- 
siderate attention  when  presented.  This  meeting  will 
have  a  large  audience  among  the  people  of  the  new  states, 
who  look  greatly  to  the  press  of  this  city  for  information 
upon  all  public  questions.  The  Chicago  press  ignores 
nothing  that  is  of  public  interest.  It  will  fully  and  fairly 
report  your  discussion,  and  record  your  proceedings. 
Each  morning,  along  the  gleaming  rails  that  lead  out  from 
tliis  great  center  of  human  activity,  will  go  multiplied 
thousands  of  the  city  papers.  Thus  will  the  objects  of 
your  Association  and  the  means  adopted  to  secure  their 
accomplishment,  be  widely  disseminated  among  an  inter- 
ested people,  and  an  intelligent  popular  judgment  pro- 
nounced upon  them. 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  earnestly  desiring  that 
you  shall  have  a  pleasant  meeting  here,  and  that  its  re- 
sults may  fully  justify  the  wisdom  of  those  who  are  re- 
sponsible for  changing  it  from  Saratoga  to  Chicago,  the 
Illinois  Bar  Association  gives  you  its  welcome,  and 
pledges  you  its  co-operation. 


196  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


LOVEJOY  MONUMENT  ADDRESS 

DELIVERED   IN  THE   HOUSE   OF   REPRESENTATIVES   IN   SUPPORT 
OF  A  BILL  TO  ERECT  A  MONUMENT  TO  ELIJAH  P.  LOVEJOY 

MB.  SPEAKER: 

I  am  not  ordinarily  a  monument  builder.  I  have 
heretofore  incured  <the  criticism  of  my  political  friends 
by  voting  against  appropriations  of  this  character.  As 
I  intend  to  vote  for  this  bill  I  desire  to  give  briefly  some 
of  my  reasons  for  so  voting.  Illinois  has  so  many  illus- 
trious citizens  whose  deeds  fill  bright  pages  in  its  history 
that  it  cannot  undertake  to  commemorate  their  names 
and  fame  by  separate  monuments.  It  is  only  when  the 
life  and  character  of  the  citizen,  or  the  circumstances  of 
his  death  are  very  unusual  or  peculiar,  and  some  great 
lesson  of  practical  worth  is  to  be  preserved  and  taught, 
that  the  building  of  a  monument  at  public  expense  is 
justifiable.  The  memory  of  a  great  statesman  or  soldier 
is  preserved  in  current  history.  The  memory  of  a  private 
hero  or  martyr,  must  have  other  means  of  preservation. 
Such  is  the  case  of  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy.  If  he  lived  now, 
neither  his  religion  or  his  politics  would  attract  attention, 
for  they  are  the  accepted  creed  of  the  civilized  world. 
But  he  lived  at  a  time  when  the  thought  of  this  nation 
was  in  fetters,  and  its  conscience  was  bound  in  a  slumber 
so  profound  that  the  hour  of  its  awakening  seemed  to  be 
in  the  far  away  future.  Lovejoy  believed  in  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  men,  and  sought  to  incorporate  his  belief 
into  the  politics  of  the  state  and  nation.  He  believed  the 
word  of  inspiration,  that  God  created  of  one  blood  all  the 
nations  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  believ- 
ing this,  he  did  not  believe  that  one  nation  could  buy  and 
sell  the  men  and  women  of  another  nation,  as  the  beasts 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  197 

of  the  field  are  bought  and  sold,  without  committing  mor- 
tal sin.  He  believed  in  the  truth  of  the  Bible  and  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  that  human  slavery  as 
it  existed  in  the  United  States  violated  the  precepts  of 
both,  and  would  in  the  end  bring  political  disaster,  and 
divine  retribution.  These  beliefs  of  Lovejoy  were  not 
popular  at  the  time  he  lived,  but  he  had  the  courage  of 
'his  convictions  and  preached  and  published  them  while 
storms  of  denunciation  raged  around  him.  He  violated 
no  law;  he  invaded  no  right;  he  preached  no  new  gospel. 
He  appealed  to  the  very  foundation  stones  of  the  republic 
for  his  politics.  Yet  by  the  lawful  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel given  to  the  world  by  the  man  of  Nazareth,  and  by  his 
earnest  appeals  to  the  self-evident  truths  of  the  declara- 
tion of  independence  he  gave  such  offense  to  public  senti- 
ment, as  it  then  existed,  as  to  invoke  every  demon  of  law- 
lessness, passion  and  prejudice,  and  turn  them  loose  upon 
himself.  These  found  their  storm  center  in  a  mob  which 
swept  the  streets  of  Alton  and  satiated  its  thirst  for  blood, 
by  the  murder  of  this  apostle  of  liberty,  who  from  his 
loftier  height  saw  the  breaking  light  of  a  better  day, 
which  has  since  dawned,  and  proclaimed  its  coming.  For 
the  murder  of  this  good  man,  though  his  murderers  were 
well  known,  the  arm  of  the  law  touched  no  man,  because 
those  whose  duty  it  was  to  administer  the  law  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  crime. 

Society  possesses  the  right  of  self-defense  and  may 
use  force  in  the  execution  of  such  right  when  it  exists. 
But  this  right  arises  only  when  the  law  is  powerless  to 
protect  or  punish.  In  the  presence  of  the  law,  or  when  its 
powers  can  be  invoked,  society  has  no  aggressive  rights. 
It  can  only  pursue,  arrest  and  punish  offenders  by,  and 
through  the  law  and  its  instrumentalities.  It  cannot  wreak 
its  vengeance,  or  manifest  its  indignation,  no  matter  how 
justly  aroused,  by  doing  violence  to  person  or  property. 
Wherever  and  whenever  this  is  done,  rebellion  against 


198  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

social  order  exists,  law  is  outraged  and  life  and  liberty 
imperiled. 

A  mob  is  never  justifiable  and  can  neither  be  excused 
or  defended.  A  mob  is  an  armed  rebellion  against  civil 
government  and  high  treason  against  the  laws  of  God  and 
man.  It  is  in  no  just  sense  of  the  word  a  tribunal.  It 
condemns  and  executes  upon  hue  and  cry,  both  the  inno- 
cent and  the  guilty. 

The  mob  that  murdered  Love  joy  found  its  justifica- 
tion and  protection  from  punishment  for  its  crime,  in  the 
abnormal  public  sentiment  then  prevailing.  Every  mob 
has  the  same  justification  and  the  same  protection,  and 
none  other.  Wait  for  a  calmer  hour  and  a  healthier 
public  sentiment.  Wait  till  reason  returns,  and  consci- 
ence awakens,  and  then  judge. 

Mobs  are  the  lingering  plague  spots  of  our  civiliza- 
tion— the  remnants  of  savagery  without  conscience  or 
reason.  They  are  impersonal  personalities  with  common 
characteristics  in  all  countries  and  in  every  grade  of  civil- 
ization where  they  occur.  Whether  mobs  expend  their 
force  in  killing  a  prophet,  stoning  an  apostle,  assassinat- 
ing a  ruler,  shooting  an  evangel  of  freedom  and  free 
speech,  or  hanging  a  malefactor,  they  are  always  and  ever 
the  same  incarnations  of  lawless  action,  criminal  intent 
and  malevolent  passions.  The  breath  of  a  mob  is  deadly 
poison  to  the  social,  civil  and  political  atmosphere.  It 
blasts  religious  sentiment,  loosens  every  restraint  that 
tends  to  keep  men  from  wrong  doing,  and  weakens  every 
tie  and  every  obligation  that  would  raise  men  higher  or 
make  them  better. 

If,  as  I  believe,  the  trend  of  human  progress  is  on- 
ward and  upward — if  the  hope  for  universal  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  among  men  is  not  an  illusive  dream, 
this  country  is  nearing  a  time  when  these  lawless  erup- 
tions of  latent  savagery  will  cease,  and  the  men  of  that 
good  era  will  look  back  to  Lovejoy's  time,  and  to  our 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  199 

time,  with  astonishment  and  shame  because  such  things 
were  possible. 

By  all  means  build  this  monument.  Build  it  where  it 
will  overlook  the  city — where  the  martyr  died.  Let  its 
polished  shaft  lift  itself  high  in  the  free  air.  And  in  the 
sunshine  where  the  love  and  affection  of  a  free  people  will 
crown  it  with  the  virtues  of  him  whose  name  it  bears. 
Let  it  be  inscribed  with  the  story  of  his  life  of  patriotism 
and  courage.  His  tragic  death  will  require  neither  line 
nor  letter  to  preserve  its  history.  Tradition  and  memory 
will  embalm  and  preserve  that,  until  the  corroding  tooth 
of  time  shall  have  consumed  the  granite  shaft  you  rear. 
Build  it  as  the  memorial  of  a  dark  passage  in  the  history 
of  human  progress — a  memorial  of  the  great  battle  for 
free  thought  and  free  speech  which  wrought  the  emanci- 
pation of  both  blacks  and  whites.  It  will,  in  all  time,  re-' 
main  a  perpetual  appeal  to  every  citizen  against  the  mob 
and  the  spirit  of  which  mobs  are  born — a  permanent  ap- 
peal for  law,  and  for  universal  unquestioning  obedience 
to  its  mandates. 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


INTRODUCING  HENRY  WATTERSON 

On  the  evening  of  May  llth,  1893,  Hon.  Henry  Wat- 
terson,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Legislature  and  local 
Newspaper  men  in  Springfield,  delivered  his  lecture  on 
Morals  and  Money.  He  was  introduced  by  Hon.  E.  Calla- 
han,  as  follows : 
MR.  CHAIRMAN,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

There  are  times  in  our  lives  when  we  seem  to  stand 
on  privileged  heights,  illumined  with  light  more  radiant 
than  that  which  beats  on  the  ordinary  paths  of  human 
action.  On  such  occasions  thought  soars  on  unfettered 
"wings,  and  the  horizons  which  bound  our  mental  vision 
lie  far  out  along  the  vistas  of  the  past,  the  present  and 
the  future.  On  these  mountains  of  opportunity  in  the 
radiant  light  which  touches  and  gilds  their  summits,  we 
feel  the  touch  of  a  hand  that  transfigures  and  transforms. 
There  is  an  inspiration  that  elevates.  The  mind  expands 
and  traces  newer  and  better  lines  of  thought,  leading  up- 
vard  to  higher  purpose  and  to  nobler  action. 

It  is  ours  to  stand  on  such  an  eminence  of  privilege 
and  opportunity  this  evening.  A  very  distinguished  citi- 
zen, whose  mind  has  ranged  the  highest  and  widest  fields 
of  thought,  explored  their  deepest  recesses,  and  grasped 
their  most  profound  mysteries  is  here  to  entertain  us  with 
a  collection  of  his  best  thoughts  on  the  subject  of  money 
and  morals.  What  he  may  say  of  morals,  or  do  with 
money  I  do  not  know,  nor  can  I  even  conjecture.  All  that 
I  now  know  is,  that  his  name  and  his  fame  as  a  journalist 
and  an  orator  are  an  assurance  within  themselves;  that 
thoughts  will  be  presented  worthy  to  be  preserved  in 
caskets  where  memory  stores  its  choicest  treasurers.  In- 
tensely interested,  and  earnestly  engaged  in  the  strife 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  201 

and  contest  of  partisan  politics,  and  wielding  an  editorial 
pen  that  is  sometimes  none  too  sweet,  he  has  yet  im- 
pressed those  who  are  not  in  accord  with  him  in  the  strife, 
with  unwavering  confidence  in  his  honesty  and  integrity. 
Fellow  citizens  of  Illinois,  at  the  request,  and  on  be- 
half of  the  legislative  and  local  newspaper  men  now  in 
Springfield,  I  have  the  distinguished  honor  of  presenting 
to  you  the  orator  of  the  evening,  the  Honorable  Henry 
Watterson,  a  citizen  of  Kentucky,  whose  name  is  loving- 
ly spoken  throughout  every  State  in  the  Union. 


202  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ADDRESS  AT  HARVEST  HOME  PICNIC 

WHEELER,  ILLINOIS.  AUGUST  24.  1893 

FELLOW  CITIZENS: 

It  is  a  genuine  pleasure  to  be  here  today  and  join  in 
your  words  and  songs  of  thanksgiving  and  joy,  at  this 
feast  of  ingathering,  or  Harvest  Home. 

The  saying  of  Jesus  that  "the  foxes  have  holes  and 
the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests, ' '  was  a  poetic  expression 
of  the  universal  law  of  nature,  which  inclines  every  liv- 
ing thing  towards  some  particular  place  as  its  natural  or 
selected  home.  This  home  feeling  and  home  turning  in 
the  lower  animals  and  in  the  fowls  of  the  air  is  instinctive 
and  unerring.  They  never  wander  beyond  their  natural 
habitation,  or  stray  from  the  paths  that  lead  thitherward. 
Birds  of  passage  follow  the  same  course  through  the  un- 
marked paths  of  the  sky  for  centuries.  In  man  this  home 
feeling  is  both  instinctive  and  reasoning.  The  faculty  of 
reason  carries  with  it  the  power  of  selection,  and  the 
liability  to  commit  error  in  the  selection  of  a  place  of 
habitation  and  in  the  construction  of  a  home.  Instinct 
is  the  magnetic  power  in  the  man  which  ever  carries  his 
thoughts,  his  affections  and  his  memory  towards  the  spot 
where  his  reason  and  his  will  have  located  his  home.  Not- 
withstanding this  home  feeling  man  is  a  wanderer  in 
every  age  and  under  almost  every  condition,  but  he  sel- 
dom wanders  so  widely,  or  far,  that  instinct  and  reason 
do  not  twine  themselves  into  an  invisible  cord,  softer 
than  silk,  and  more  tenacious  than  steel,  binding  him  to 
some  spot,  some  land,  or  some  country  which  his  heart 
calls  home.  This  home  land  may  be,  and  often  is,  changed 
by  emigration  and  the  selection  of  a  new  home,  but  still 
memory  clings  long  to  the  old  home.  It  broods  over  the 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  203 

graves  of  ancestors,  and  of  loved  and  lost  companions 
and  kindred.  It  finds  in  the  history  of  the  Fatherland 
something  to  feed  upon.  But  time  kindly  severs  these 
ties  one  by  one,  and  twines  their  severed  ends  into  the 
new  home  and  around  it,  until  it  becomes  the  sole  sanctu- 
ary of  the  heart's  love  and  affection,  and  the  one  spot  to 
which  it  turns  for  rest  and  peace  in  time  of  weariness  or 
trouble.  What  home  is  to  man  depends  very  much  upon 
where  he  is,  and  with  what  associations  he  is  surrounded. 
A  citizen  of  any  Christian  nation,  in  the  heart  of  Africa, 
where  ignorance  is  dense,  where  superstition  and  idolatry 
rest  like  dark  clouds  over  the  land,  and  the  spirit  of 
savagery  pervades  everything,  would  send  his  thought  to 
any  and  every  land  where  the  light  of  the  Cross  has 
driven  away  the  ignorance,  the  superstition,  idolatry  and 
savagery  which  still  liger  in  Africa,  and  his  heart  would 
say,  this  land  of  light  and  civilization  is  my  home. 

A  citizen  of  the  United  States  traveling  in  any  coun- 
try of  the  old  world,  where  the  shadows  of  the  darker 
ages  of  despotism  still  linger,  if  asked  to  say  where  his 
home  is,  takes  into  his  thought  the  whole  United -States, 
and  proudly  says: 

c '  My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty.'' 

An  Illinoisan,  in  any  other  State  than  his  own,  points 
to  the  great  Empire  State  of  the  West,  and  calls  its  vast 
domain  his  home.  Bring  him  within  the  State,  and  his 
thought  of  home  embraces  a  county,  a  city  or  a  village. 
Bring  him  within  the  county,  city  or  village,  and  surround 
him  with  his  fellow-citizens,  and  he  unites  with  them  in 
saying,  "this  is  our  home." 

But  the  man  is  not  yet  at  home  in  the  sense  that  I 
would  have  you  think  of  home  today.  When  the  storm 
spirit  troubles  the  sky;  when  the  ghostly  fingers  of  disease 
touch  and  threaten  to  storm  or  countermine  the  citadel  of 
life,  a  closer  and  more  secure  refuge  is  required  than 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

country,  state,  county,  city  or  village,  and  the  heart  cries 
out  for  an  ark  of  greater  safety,  and  a  place  of  more  ab- 
solute security  than  these  afford.  When  a  man  and  a 
woman,  thrilling  with  the  impulses  of  their  young  life, 
ornate  with  the  bud  and  bloom  of  manly  and  womanly 
character,  go  out  from  the  altar  where  they  have  pledged, 
each  to  the  other,  love  and  trust  in  every  way  of  life, 
until  one  or  the  other  shall  enter  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  they  require  a  place  more  sacred,  than  the  homes 
erected  by  others  can  give  them.  They  must  build  a  new 
home  and  found  a  new  family  in  the  community  of  homes 
and  families.  That  home  must  be  an  inner  sanctuary 
where  the  divinities  of  the  hearthstone  may  be  wor- 
shipped without  molestation  or  fear;  where  the  soul  can 
drink  in  all  the  melody,  and  the  ear  delight  itself  to  full- 
ness with  the  music  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home."  I  have 
said  that  human  will  and  reason  may  make  mistakes  in 
the  selection  of  a  habitation  and  the  building  of  a  home. 
Sometimes  such  mistakes  are  unavoidable,  but  generally 
they  are  accompanied  with  responsibility.  This  responsi- 
bility is  illustrated  by  the  words  of  Jesus:  "Whosoever 
heareth  these  my  words,  and  doeth  them,  shall  be  likened 
to  a  wise  man  who  built  his  house  upon  a  rock,  and  the 
rain  fell,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and 
they  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell  not,  because  it  was 
founded  upon  a  rock.  And  everyone  that  heareth  these 
my  words,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  like  a  foolish 
man  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand,  and  the  rain  fell 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  they  beat  up- 
on that  house  arid  it  fell,  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof. ' ' 
To  build  a  perfect  home  is  the  grandest  earthly  con- 
ception of  the  human  mind,  and  the  grandest  work  of 
human  hands.  Neither  man  or  woman  alone,  can  either 
conceive  the  plan,  or  execute  the  work.  It  requires  the 
high  courage  and  the  rugged  strength  of  manhood,  com- 
bined with  the  intuitive  knowledge  and  the  delicate  touch 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  205 

of  woman's  hand.  In  order  to  achieve  success,  the  minds 
of  the  home  builders  must  be  educated,  their  hearts 
purified  and  their  souls  elevated.  An  ignorant  man — a 
vulgar  man — an  irreverent  man  has  not  within  himself 
the  conception  of  a  perfect  home,  and  he  cannot  produce 
that  which  he  never  conceived.  He  may  build  magnifi- 
cently upon  plans  designed  by  the  skill  of  others,  but  he 
cannot  infuse  into  such  creations  the  cheerful,  restful, 
intelligent  spirit  that  prevades  and  beautifies  a  perfect 
home. 

An  ideal  home  means  a  permanent  abiding  place, 
where  children  are  born  and  married,  and  where  fathers 
and  mothers  die.  The  primal  thought  of  a  home  is  the 
place  where  it  shall  be,  and  the  indisputable  right  to  oc- 
cupy it  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  Its  location  and  ex- 
tent must  be  influenced  largely  by  the  means,  but  much 
more  by  the  culture,  taste  and  enterprise  of  the  home 
builders.  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  truest 
loyalty  and  the  most  exalted  patriotism  are  rooted  and 
grounded  in  ownership  of  the  soil.  Anarchy,  socialism, 
and  the  disturbing  elements  of  society,  are  not  anchored 
in  the  soil,  and  they  drift  whithersoever  the  currents  of 
lawless  discontent  may  "bear  them. 

The  tenant  farmer  is  neither  an  anarchist  nor  a  so- 
cialist, but  he  has  no  interest  in,  and  does  nothing  in  the 
way  of  permanent  improvements.  He  is  wholly  unac- 
customed to  this  method  of  saving.  He  plants  no  trees, 
either  for  fruit  or  adornment,  and  does  little  to  protect 
or  preserve  those  planted  by  others.  He  is  not  so  much 
to  blame.  His  term  is  too  uncertain  to  justify  the  ex- 
penditure of  time  or  money  in  making  inprovements 
which  he  may  not  enjoy.  A  partial  remedy  for  this  evil 
might  be  found  in  longer  leases  with  compensation  for 
permanent  betterments  at  the  end  of  the  term.  The  com- 
plete remedy  is  in  the  ownership  of  a  home  by  the  farmer 
or  laborer,  and  this  remedy  lies  within  the  reach  of  every 


206  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

one.  It  may  consist  of  but  a  few  acres,  and  may  not  be  of 
great  monied  value,  but  it  feeds  the  home  feeling  in  the 
heart.  It  has  the  element  of  permanency  and  independ- 
ence and  the  joy  of  ownership. 

If  eight  men  of  small  means  should  buy  forty  acres  of 
land  and  divide  it  into  five  acre  lots  they  could  pay  for  and 
improve  their  respective  lots  in  a  very  few  years,  merely 
by  employing  the  time  which  the  average  tenant  farmer, 
or  farm  laborer,  under  present  conditions,  is  unemployed. 
Other  savings  which  would  naturally  accrue  by  reason  of 
the  ownership  of  a  home,  would  hasten  the  day  of  pay- 
ment and  improve  the  condition  of  the  family.  Employ- 
ment could  be  had,  and  additional  lands  rented  of  the 
neighboring  farmers.  Relations  of  mutual  benefit  would 
be  established  and  maintained.  This  five  acre  lot  plan  is 
only  given  as  an  illustration  of  what  may  be  done,  and  the 
benefits  to  result  from  the  ownership  of  the  soil  whereon 
the  home  is  built. 

It  is  impossible  to  build  a  perfect  farmer's  home  on 
a  starved  soil.  When  a  field  gets  hungry  and  poor  the 
highest  wisdom  is  to  stop  and  feed  it.  The  greatest  folly 
is  to  ask  it  for  more  crops  without  feeding  it.  It  is  very 
easy  to  feed  the  ground.  Its  mouth  must  first  be  opened 
by  deep  plowing.  When  this  is  done  give  it  red  clover 
seed  with  a  half  seeding  of  oats  to  shade  the  tender  plants 
of  clover.  Clover  seed  must  be  put  into  the  ground  to  in- 
sure success.  The  clover  should  not  be  cut  or  pastured 
short,  but  plowed  under  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  ripe  enough 
to  grow.  Another  plowing  the  next  year  turns  up  the 
seed  and  gives  another  crop  of  clover. 

Attention  must  be  paid  to  the  fluids  as  well  as  to  the 
solids  with  which  the  soil  is  nourished.  We  have  no  crops 
that  do  well  under  water,  or  in  a  water-logged  soil.  Sur- 
face and  underground  drainage  must  be  provided.  Nat- 
ural channels  should  be  first  cleaned  out,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  straightened.  Every  farmer  should  attend  to 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  207 

this  on  his  own  farm.  The  larger  streams  will  have  to  be 
cleared  of  obstructions  by  some  sort  .of  organization 
which  has  not  been  provided  for  yet. 

Underground  or  tile  drainage  is  one  of  the  greatest 
wants  of  our  clay  soils.  A  well  drained  soil  receives  and 
assimilates  fertilizers  readily.  It  withstands  the  ex- 
tremes of  drouth  and  flood  better  than  an  undrained  soil. 
The  failures  that  have  discouraged  farmers  in  this  part 
of  the  State  have  mostly  resulted  from  the  use  of  tile  so 
small  that  they  soon  choke,  and  from  the  unscientific 
methods  of  putting  them  in.  Farmers  of  Illinois,  you 
have  never  realized  the  wealth  and  worth  of  your  clay 
soils,  and  you  never  will  until  you  drain  and  feed  them. 
Give  these  soils  proper  drainage — then  after  you  have 
turned  under  one  good  crop  of  clover,  take  two  crops  of 
wheat,  corn,  rye  or  oats  and  then  another  of  clover,  and  in 
ten  years  you  will  have  better  land  than  you  ever  had, 
and  a  better  reward  for  your  labor. 

In  home  building  on  the  farm  there  are  intellectual 
fields  that  are  in  danger  of  becoming  impoverished  also. 
First,  there  is  the  farmer  and  the  farmer's  wife.  They 
are  more  outside  of  the  currents  of  busy  life  than  they 
were  before  marriage,  and  more  engrossed  in  their  own 
affairs.  The  libraries  which  a  lifetime  had  collected  at 
the  homes  from  which  they  came  are  not  at  hand  to  be 
consulted,  and  other  thoughts  engage  their  minds.  They 
forget  they  are  building  a  home  for  sons  and  daughters 
upon  whom  they  shall  lean  when  time  has  enfeebled  them. 
They  turn  their  thoughts  too  much  to  material  things, 
too  little  upon  the  duties  that  shall  hereafter  come  to 
them,  and  the  preparation  of  their  minds  and  hearts  for 
the  discharge  of  such  duties.  A  single  partisan  news- 
paper is  taken,  and  the  farmer  becomes  more  a  lopsided 
partisan  than  a  patriotic  citizen;  a  single  church  paper, 
and  the  farmer  and  the  farmer's  wife  become  sectarians 
rather  than  Christians.  Books  and  better  magazines  are 


20S  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

unknown.  Into  this  atmosphere  of  bias,  prejudice  and 
narrowness  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  farmer  are 
born.  It  is"  a  starved  soil  in  which  their  minds  and  souls 
are  dwarfed,  or  against  which  their  young  manhood  and 
womanhood  rebels,  and  they  go  out  from  home  into  the 
more  active  and  intellectual,  but  more  dangerous,  atmo- 
sphere of  city  life.  Instruction,  entertainment  and  amuse- 
ment must  be  provided  in  the  home  of  the  farmer,  or  it 
will  lose  the  love  that  makes  a  home  lovely.  The  duty  to 
furnish  these  devolves  on  the  father  and  mother  and  can- 
not be  delegated  to  others. 

A  farmer's  home,  however  elegant,  has  an  unfinished 
air  about  it  unless  there  is  a  school  house  near  by.  An 
empire,  a  kingdom  or  an  aristocracy  may  survive  without 
the  school  house,  but  a  republic  cannot.  But  the  school 
house  never  finishes  an  education.  It  awakens  thought 
and  teaches  how  to  learn.  It  gives  its  pupils  primary 
lessons  in  history  and  sends  them  to  the  libraries,  which 
should  be  in  their  own  homes,  for  the  full  story.  They 
read  at  the  school  house  extracts  from  the  leaders  of 
thought  in  all  ages  and  countries,  and  should  be  supplied 
with  the  books  from  which  the  extracts  were  taken.  They 
are  entitled  to  the  metropolitan  newspapers  and  the 
magazines  in  which  the  statesmen  and  scientists  discuss 
the  living  questions  of  the  present  time. 

A  farmer's  home  must  have  something  of  adorn- 
ment or  it  presents  a  dreary  picture  to  the  passerby, 
and  more  dreary  still  to  those  who  occupy  it.  It  costs 
but  little  to  surround  the  home  with  a  grassy  lawn,  and 
a  little  skill  and  industry  will  build  walks  of  gravel, 
stone,  brick,  plank  or  concrete  through  it.  Only  a  little 
time  and  attention  are  necessary  to  plant  and  cultivate 
trees  for  shade,  and  to  sprinkle  the  lawn  with  roses  and 
other  flowering  shrubs.  Spare  moments  improved  will 
free  the  grounds  of  noxious  weeds.  A  watchful  eye  will 
keep  things  in  order.  If  men  and  women  only  knew  how 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  209 

easily  disorder  and  unsightliness  could  be  driven  away 
from  the  homes,  and  order  and  beauty  take  their  places, 
they  would  make  the  exchange.  The  thought  of  the 
farmer  on  this  matter  needs  touching  and  quickening 
into  action. 

Returning  thanks  for  the  abundance  of  the  Harvest 
season  is  part  of  the  natural  religion  of  the  world.  Cain 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  to  observe  it  when  he 
" offered  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  gifts  to  the  Lord." 
When  the  Jews  entered  the  promised  land  they  were 
commanded  to  "bring  sheaves  of  ears,  the  first  fruits 
of  your  harvest  to  the  priest, ' '  for  an  offering.  The  ears 
that  remained  in  the  field  were  to  be  left  for  the  poor 
and  the  stranger. 

In  England  the  "Feast  of  Ingathering,"  or  "Har- 
vest  Home,"   has  been   observed   for   many   centuries. 
Originally  it  consisted  of  rude  ceremonies,  accompanied 
by  feasting  and  drinking.    In  an  old  "Harvest  Home" 
poem  I  find  the  following  description  of  the  feast: 
"You  shall  see  the  first  large  and  cheefe 
Foundation  of  your  feast,  fat  beefe, 
With  upper  stories,  mutton,  veale, 
And  bacon,  which  makes  full  the  meal; 
And  several  dishes  standing  by, 
As  here  a  custard,  there  a  pie, 
And  here  all  tempting  frumentie. 
And  for  to  make  the  merry  cheere — 
If  smirking  wine  be  wanting  here — 
There's  that  which  drowns  all  care,  stout  beere, 
Which  freely  drink  to  your  lord's  health." 
In  later  years  in  England,  and  always  in  this  coun- 
try, when  the  feast  is  observed  the  ceremonies  have  been 
more  consistent  with  the  Christian  civilization  of  our  age 
and  country.    The  pleasures  of  the  occasion  are  not  less 
enjoyable  and  much  more  rational.    It  is  a  gathering  of 


210  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


the  people  for  social  intercourse  and  rest  from  labors. 
The  occasion  suggests  thankfulness  to  Him  who  gave 
the  harvest,  and  from  whose  hand  we  receive  every  good 
and  perfect  gift,  and 

*      *      "whose  mercy  set 
The  rainbow  in  the  clouds, 

To  tell  that  seasons,  heat  and  cold, 
Fixed  by  his  sovereign  will, 

Shall  in  their  course,  bid  man  behold 

Seed  time  and  harvest  still. ' ' 

This  is  a  proper  time  to  give  special  consideration  to 
your  interests  as  farmers.  The  condition  of  your  lands; 
the  quality  of  your  domestic  animals ;  the  planting,  culti- 
vation and  rotation  of  your  crops,  and  their  results.  It 
will  do  no  harm  to  look  into  and  about  your  homes  and 
question  yourselves  as  to  your  success  or  failure  as  home 
builders.  Bear  in  mind  that  improved  lands  make  richer 
harvests.  Improved  homes  will  make  the  feasts  of  in- 
. gathering  and  thanksgiving  richer  and  better  in  every 
pleasure  and  every  source  of  enjoyment  that  feeds  the 
mind  and  elevates  the  soul.  The  richer  harvests  of  fertil- 
ized soil  suggest  and  furnish  the  means  to  supply  new 
attractions  and  additional  pleasures.  The  attractions  of 
art:  the  delights  of  music;  the  treasures  of  literature,  and 
the  perennial  fountain  of  current  news,  and  living  thought 
issuing  from  the  press,  may  all  be  gathered  about  your 
hearthstones. 

The  great  mistake  is  trying  to  stand  still  while  the 
world  is  sweeping  irresistibly  onward  in  the  orbit  of  its 
progress  and  destiny.  The  farmer  must  move  with  the 
procession.  Agriculture  must  keep  pace  with  other  em- 
ployments. 

A  hundred  years  ago  a  prophetic  vision  of  the  future 
passed  before  the  eye  of  an  American  poet  and  sage. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  211 

It  revealed  to  him  a  time  far  out  on  the  vistas  of  the 

future,  when 

Earth,  alJ  gardened,  a  tenfold  burden  brings — 
Her  fruits,  her  odors,  her  salubrious  springs — 
Swell,  breathe  and  bubble  from  the  soil  thy  grace, 
String  with  strong  nerves  the  renovating  race. 
Their  numbers  multiply  in  every  land, 
Their  toils  diminish  and  their  powers  expand; 
And  while  she  rears  them  with  a  statelier  frame, 
Their  soul  she  kindles  with  diviner  flame, 
Leads  their  bright  intellect  with  fervid  glow 

Through  all  the  realm  of  things  to  know. 

*  #  #  * 

From  every  shape  that  varying  matter  gives, 
That  rests  or  ripens,  vegetates  or  lives, 
High  springs  of  health  for  mind  and  body  trace, 
Add  force  and  beauty  to  the  joyous  race, 
Arm  with  new  engines  his  adventurous  hand; 
Stretch  o'er  the  elements  his  wide  command; 
Lay  the  proud  storm  submisive  at  his  feet ; 
Change,  temper,  tame  all  subterranean  heat, 
Probe  laboring  earth  and  drag  from  her  dark  side 
The  young  volcano  ere  his  voice  be  tried; 
Walk  under  ocean,  ride  the  buoyant  air, 
Brew  the  soft  shower,  the  labored  land  repair, 
A  fruitful  soil  o  'er  sandy  deserts  spread 
And  clothe  with  culture  every  mountain's  head. 
If  you  will  go  to  the  White  City,  on  Lake  Michigan, 
where  the  world  has  gathered  specimens  of  its  handiwork 
and  relics  of  its  history,  and  where  more  tongues  are 
spoken  than  filled  the  air  with  confusion  when  the  Tower 
of  Babel  lifted  its  head  towards  the  sky,  you  will  realize 
that  the  vision  of  the  Poet  and  Sage  has  been  more  than 
fulfilled  as  you  gaze  upon  the  splendid  magnificence  of 
this  city  of  the  world,  and  wander  through  its  treasure 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

houses  of  wealth  and  beauty,  your  soul  will  catch  the  rays 
of  the  millenial  dawn;  of  that  age  of  hope  when 

"War's  hosted  hounds  shall  vex  the  world  no  more," 
and  the  angel  of  peace  shall  cover  the  earth  with  the 
shadow  of  his  wings. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  213 


THE  DOCTOR  AND  THE  LAWYER 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  AESCULAPIAN  SOCIETY  OF  THE  WABASH 
VALLEY.  AT  PARIS,  ILLINOIS,  OCTOBER  28,  1907 

In  all  the  countries  of  earth — under  all  the  stars  of 
heaven — the  lawyer  and  the  doctor  live  and  work  side 
by  side  and  are  important  factors  in  the  social  life  and 
political  institutions  of  the  people.  They  are  ever  yoke 
fellows  in  the  march  of  civilization. 

The  term  doctor  in  this  address  has  an  eclectic 
meaning.  It  embraces  all  who  follow  sharply  in  the  wake 
of  scientific  investigation  and  intelligently  accept  scien- 
tific conclusions  regardless  of  the  effect  on  preconceived 
opinions.  It  embraces  all  who  boldly  and  persistently 
struggle  to  know  more  in  order  to  serve  humanity  better. 

The  term  lawyer  in  the  wider  sense  in  which  I  must 
use  it  embraces  the  legislator,  the  judge  and  the  states- 
man, in  addition  to  the  lawyer  who  tries  law  suits  before 
the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  country. 

In  the  field  of  political  construction  the  lawyer  goes 
before  the  doctor,  and  his  work  and  influence  in  that  field 
are  dominant.  The  superstructure  of  all  political  govern- 
ments is  designed,  constructed  and  put  in  place  by  the 
skilled  hand  of  the  lawyer.  The  laborer  may  clear  the 
ground,  the  soldier  may  subdue  enemies  who  would  ob- 
struct, all  may  carry  brick  and  mortar  and  stone,  but  the 
lawyer  as  master  workman  fashions  and  shapes  and 
builds.  But  the  doctor  is  there  all  the  time,  caring  for 
the  sick  and  the  accidentally  wounded,  and  when  the 
house  is  habitable  he  becomes  a  useful  and  important 
factor  in  its  control  and  management. 


214  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

In  political  governments  two  subjects  very  promi- 
nently arid  forcibly  claim  the  attention  of  those  who  make 
and  administer  the  laws.  These  are  crime  and  misfortune. 

By  crime  is  meant  wilful  wrong-doing  with  an  under- 
standing that  the  act  done  is  unlawful.  With  reference 
to  this  subject  some  laws  are  passed  to  prevent  the  com- 
mission of  crimes,  others  to  punish  crimes  after  their 
commission,  and  others  still  to  protect  society  from  the 
effects  of  criminal  acts. 

By  misfortune  is  meant  those  accidents  of  birth  and 
of  life  after  birth  which  withhold  or  take  from  the  citizen 
the  power  to  win  the  necessities  of  his  existence  by  his 
own  efforts.  The  law  gives  great  considerations  to  these 
misfortunes  of  life  in  which  so  many  citizens  become 
so  deeply  involved  as  to  be  unable  to  supply  their  wants, 
care  for  their  persons  or  protect  themselves  from  harm. 
It  organizes  charities  and  builds  hospitals  and  asylums 
and  thus  provides  a  refuge  from  the  worst  consequences 
of  misfortune,  either  mental  or  physical.  It  seeks  thus 
to  help  and  heal  the  maladies  of  both  body  and  mind.  In 
the  passage  of  all  laws  of  this  character  the  doctor  is  the 
necessary  and  invaluable  aid  of  the  lawyer,  and  but  of  his 
professional  knowledge  and  its  intelligent  and  sympathe- 
tic application  in  the  practical  business  of  life  have  come 
the  best  organized  and  most  beneficent  charities  which 
distinguish  the  civilization  of  our  age  and  country. 

In  the  administration  of  the  criminal  laws  the  doctor 
often  becomes  the  guide  of  the  lawyer.  In  my  judg- 
ment his  assistance  should  be  sought  oftener  and  in  a 
more  reasonable  way  than  it  is. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  criminal  action  is  conceived 
in  falsehood  and  that  all  the  arts  of  deception  will  be  re- 
sorted to  to  conceal  the  crime.  Disease  is  feigned  with 
such  consummate  skill  that  no  one  but  the  doctor  can 
discover  the  deception.  Insanity  is  feigned  and  the  law- 
yer stands  aghast  at  its  manifestations,  plausible  yet 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  215 

deceptive.    He  must  have  the  aid  of  the  doctor  to  lift  the 
veil  of  mystery  and  unmask  the  fraud. 

Another  difficulty  arises  when  one  who  has  com- 
mitted a  criminal  act  appears  to  lack  full  intelligence. 
.  One  says,  "His  intelligence  is  of  a  low  grade."  An- 
other calls  him  a  "crank."  Another  speaks  of  him  as 
"peculiar,"  "morally  insane"  or  a  "monomaniac." 
The  lawyer  who  defends  "him  pleads  insanity  and  calls 
the  doctor  to  prove  the  plea.  , 

If  only  those  of  sound  mind  shall  be  punished  this 
man  should  go  acquit.  Experience  demonstrates  that 
under  such  a  rule  many  dangerous  criminals  would  es- 
cape just  punishment.  The  law  has  adopted  a  rule  that 
if  the  person  who  commits  a  criminal  act  has  sufficient 
intelligence  to  plan  and  execute  the  act,  knowing  at  the 
same  time  that  it  is  wrong,  he  is  legally  sane  and  re- 
sponsible. This  rule  is  clear  enough,  but  the  difficulty 
lies  in  its  application  to  actual  cases.  Between  the  ex- 
tremes of  reason  and  unreason  there  lies  a  wide  terri- 
tory through  which  runs  no  distinct  line  of  demarcation 
separating  the  one  from  the  other.  Over  a  wide  inter- 
mediate belt  of  this  territory  the  lights  of  reason  and 
the  shades  of  unreason  strongly  blend  and  intermingle. 
Through  this  region  of  intermingling  light  and  shadow 
lies  the  pathway  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  of  mil- 
lions of  men  and  women  whom  the  law  holds  respon- 
sible to  its  demands  and  commands.  Close  by  He  the 
paths  of  other  millions  over  which  the  shadows  of  un- 
reason seem  darker  only  by  the  shadow  of  a  shade,  yet 
they  are  said  to  be  within  the  region  of  unreason  and  of 
legal  irresponsibility.  The  doctor  explores  this  middle 
territory  where  reason  and  unreason  contend  against 
each  other  and  where  responsibility  and  irresponsibili- 
ty hang  trembling  in  the  balances.  He  turns  upon  its 
tangles  of  mystery  and  doubts. the  search  lights  of  his 
science,  and  aids  the  cause  of  justice  and  right  in  many 


216 


cases  where  the  lawyer  doubts  and  the  tribunals  of  law 
hesitate  to  pronounce  judgment  or  to  execute  sentence. 
But  the  doctor  alone  is  in  danger  from  his  own  theo- 
ries. He  is  in  need  of  the  lawyer  as  much  as  the  lawyer 
is  in  the  need  of  him  in  the  exploration  of  this  territory 
of  doubt,  in  which  his  scientific  knowledge  is  of  so  much 
value.  The  tendency  of  the  doctor  is  to  attribute  ment- 
al aberrations  and  moral  delinquencies  to  physical  causes 
existing  in  the  man,  or  at  the  farthest,  to  tendencies  in- 
herited from  his  ancestors.  He  hesitates  to  recognize 
a  spirit  of  evil  existing  in  the  human  breast  indejjendent 
from,  and  outside  of  physical  disease. 

The  lawyer  is  less  a  materialist  than  the  doctor.  He 
has  learned  much  from  the  doctor.  He  attributes  much 
to  the  condition  of  the  criminal  classes.  He  traces  the 
source  of  many  criminal  acts  to  the  principle  of  heredity. 
But  it  is  the  habit  of  the  lawyer  to  look  for  criminal  mo- 
tive outside  the  man  and  his  physical  condition.  He 
looks  for  it  in  the  voluntary  exercise  of,  or  failure  to  re- 
strain, and  control  the  malevolent  passions  of  the  human 
heart.  He  believes  that  criminals  are  moved  and  seduced 
by  the  devil. 

The  safe  ground  lies  beween  these  extremes,  or  rath 
er  in  giving  proper  consideration  to  the  theories,  tend- 
encies and  conclusions  of  both  lawyer  and  doctor. 

The  doctor  would  be  a  better  aid  to  the  lawyer  if  he 
would  be  a  little  less  theoretical  than  he  sometimes  is. 
He  should  make  himself  familiar  with  the  lawyer's  defi- 
nition of  sanity  and  insanity.  That  is,  if  instead  of  draw- 
ing his  lines  between  absolute  sanity  and  that  which 
falls  below  this,  he  would  join  the  lawyer  in  his  practical 
search  for  the  line  between  legal  responsibility  and  legal 
irresponsibility,  he  would  accomplish  more  good  than  by 
indulging  in  fine-spun  theories  as  to  how  much  or  how 
little  mental  disturbance  will  justify  him  in  telling  a 
court  or  jury  that  a  man  is  insane. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  217 

It  is  not  alone  in  the  administration  of  the  criminal 
law  that  the  doctor  at  times  becomes  the  necessary  assist- 
ant and  guide  of  the  lawyer.  In  civil  actions,  both  at 
law  and  in  equity,  his  professional  opinion  on  questions 
which  lie  outside  of  the  field  of  the  lawyer's  ordinary 
observation  and  experience,  and  peculiarly  within  that  of 
the  doctor's,  is  often  indispensable.  The  law  allows 
persons  of  ''sound  mind  and  memory"  to  dispose  of  their 
property  and  estate  by  will  duly  executed  and  attested. 
It  allows  any  person  interested  in  the  estate  of  the  tes- 
tator to  contest  any  will  by  bill  in  chancery  within  two 
years  after  the  will  is  probated  in  county  court.  A  great 
many  wills  are  executed  by  very  old  people  whose  mental 
facilities  are  impaired  by  age.  Many  others  are  execut- 
ed during  the  last  sickness  of  the  testator  when  the  mind 
is  not  in  its  normal  condition.  In  these  cases  it  can  not 
be  truthfully  said  that  either  the  mind  or  the  memory 
is  absolutely  sound,  and  yet  such  wills  are  upheld  when 
it  appears  that  the  testator  at  the  time  had  sufficient  mind 
and  memory  to  understand  the  nature  and  general  effect 
of  the  act  he  was  performing.  This  modified  definition  of 
what  constitutes  u sound  mind  and  memory,"  in  a  legal 
sense,  is  the  result  of  judicial  construction.  It  is  intend- 
ed to  recognize  and  enforce  a  settled  rule  of  property, 
that  whatever  a  man  has  acquired  he  may  dispose  of 
in  his  own  way  and  to  whom  he  pleases,  even  though  his 
mental  powers  be  somewhat  impaired  by  age  or  disease, 
if  he  still  has  sufficient  intelligence  to  transact  under- 
standingly  his  ordinary  business. 

Probably  the  most  common  ground  upon  which  wills 
are  contested  in  chancery  is  the  want  of  "sound  mind 
and  memory"1  in  the  testator.  My  own  experience  has 
been  that  such  contests,  lying  almost  wholly  outside  of  the 
domain  of  demonstrable  fact  and  within  that  of  opinion, 
are  among  the  most  intricate  and  difficult  that  are  en- 
countered in  practice.  The  presence  of  the  doctor  and  the 


218  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

aid  of  his  professional  learning  is  never  dispensed  with 
in  these  contests.  It  is  in  this  field  that  the  doctor  often 
receives  censure  for  which  the  lawyer  is  more  to  blame 
than  the  doctor. 

When  the  doctor  comes  into  court  as  a  witness  he  is 
largely  under  control  of  the  lawyer.  He  testifies  when 
the  lawyer  calls  him  and  answers  only  such  questions  as 
the  lawyer  propounds.  The  lawyer  is  a  professed  part- 
isan in  the  controversy  and  as  such  he  desires  to  so  use 
the  doctor  that  he  shall  subserve  the  partisan  end  of  the 
lawyer.  The  doctor  who  permits  himself  to  be  so  used 
plants  hie,  feet  on  dangerous  ground  and  has  no  just  cause 
of  complaint  when  he  receives  censure. 

I  believe  that  it  only  remains  for  the  lawyer  to  so  ar- 
range the  rules  of  practice  in  the  courts  that  this  ideal  of 
disinterested  non-partisan  professional  medical  expert 
testimony  shall  become  a  practical  realization.  When 
this  consummation  shall  be  reached  the  doctor  will  be  re- 
leased of  many  of  the  embarrassments  that  he  now  ex- 
periences when  called  as  a  witness  and  the  value  of  his 
professional  opinion  will  be  enhanced  an  hundred  fold. 

The  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  already 
an  illustrious  period  in  the  history  of  medical  science. 
It  is  replete  with  triumphs  which  bring  fresh  honors  to 
the  doctor  and  multiplied  benefits  to  the  people. 

Throughout  the  civilized  world  laws  have  been 
passed  to  secure  more  thorough  preparation  by  the  doc- 
tor before  he  enters  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession 
—also  for  the  suppression  of  empiricism  and  quackery. 
Organization,  association  and  investigation  are  leading 
the  doctor  into  broader  fields  of  knowledge  and  to  higher 
planes  of  usefulness.  Gentlemen  of  the  ^Esculapian  So- 
iety  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  recognizing  you  as  one  of  the 
active  agencies  in  the  advance  movements  of  your  pro- 
fession, I  bid  you  God-speed  in  your  good  work. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  219 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AUGUST  15,  1912 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSO- 
CIATION: 

Last  year  when  I  engaged  to  make  an  address  on  this 
occasion  I  had  in  mind  to  make  it  entirely  historical ;  but 
when  I  undertook  to  condense  a  hundred  years  of  history 
into  the  limits  of  an  hour's  talk,  it  became  too  large  and 
unwieldly  for  use,  and  I  have  prepared  an  address  of  an- 
other kind  which,  I  hope  will  interest  you. 

We  are  all  growing  old,  and  are  pressing  upon  the 
outer  boundaries  of  human  life.  Since  pur  last  meeting 
some  of  our  members  have  been  gathered  home,  like 
wheat  ripe  for  the  harvest-  Our  lives  have  been  pre- 
served, and  we  have  the  high  privilege  of  coming  to- 
gether in  this  annual  meeting,  and  sharing  with  each 
other  the  social  and  friendly  pleasures  of  the  occasion. 
My  own  life  began  in  a  pioneer  county  in  central 
Ohio.  From  my  infancy  I  tasted  the  bitter  cup  of  priva- 
tion and  hardship  which  necessity  presses  to  the  lips  of 
the  pioneer.  I  was  born  on  a  December  day  in  a  cabin 
built  of  unhewn  logs,  covered  with  clapboards  riven  by 
my  father  and  floored  with  puncheons  split  and  hewed 
by  him.  The  wide  fire  place  was  built  up  of  dried  clay, 
and  the  chimney  that  rose  above  it  of  split  sticks  filled  in 
and  plastered  with  stiff  mortar.  Great  forest  trees  stood 
as  sentinels  around,  and  their  branches  overhung  and 
shadowed  it.  In  my  boyhood  days  I  saw  these  trees  one 
by  one  fall  beneath  the  strokes  of  my  father's  axe.  The 
area  of  cleared  land  was  slowly  extended  and  fields  were 
marked  out  and  fenced.  In  the  first  field  an  orchard  was 
planted  and  grew  amid  the  stumps  and  the  corn.  In  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


woods  pasture  there  was  a  small  flock  of  sheep  that  was 
brought  into  a  close  fold  each  night  to  protect  them, 
from  the  wolves  that  prowled  and  howled  in  the  sur- 
rounding forest.  I  was  not  a  very  large  boy  when  I  was 
drafted  into  the  ranks  of  the  toilers  who  were  busily  en- 
gaged in  the  arduous  task  of  transforming  a  timber  land 
wilderness  into  farms  and  homes.  This  transformation 
was  much  more  rapid  than  that  which  was  at  the  same 
time  taking  place  along  the  western  banks  of  the  Wabash. 
The  blood  which  flowed  into  Ohio  from  the  East  had  more 
rapid  and  vigorous  pulsations  than  that  which  flowed  in- 
to Illinois  from  the  south,  and  improvements  progressed 
more  rapidly  there  than  here.  They  were  also  aided  by 
state  and  national  enterprises.  The  opening  of  the  Ohio 
Canal  from  Cleveland  to  Porstmouth  by  the  State,  and 
the  National  road  from  Cumberland  in  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia through  Ohio  and  on  towards  the  setting  sun,  great- 
ly accelerated  the  settlement  and  improvement  of  that 
country;  by  opening  up  the  northern,  eastern  and  south- 
ern markets  to  the  products  of  the  Ohio  fanner,  while 
the  farmers  of  the  Wabash  country  were  conliiifd  to  the 
Southern  markets  alone.  In  noting  the  relative  rate  of 
progress  of  improvement  in  different  sections  of  the  coun- 
try advantages  of  this  character  should  have  serious  con- 
sideration. 

I  became  a  citizen  of  Crawford  County  on  the  eighth 
day  of  March,  1849.  I  had  entered  upon  the  twentieth 
year  of  iny  life.  The  county  was  then  thirty-three  years 
old,  and  the  State  of  Illinois  was  thirty  years  old.  The 
county  was  organized  in  the  year  1816  under  an  act  of 
the  territorial  Legislature,  and  embraced  about  one-third 
of  the  State  of  Illinois  and  the  eastern  half  of  the  State 
of  Wisconsin.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  the  house 
of  Edward  N.  Cullom  without  any  designation  as  to  its 
location  in  the  vast  territory  included  in  the  county.  It 
was  in  fact  at  Palestine.  The  population  of  the  County 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  221 

and  State  was  then  very  sparse  and  principally  in  the 
southern  part.  As  population  increased  and  pressed 
further  north  new  counties  were  formed,  and  by  this 
process  Crawford  County  has  been  reduced  to  its  present 
limits,  and  the  county  seat  removed  from  Palestine  to 
Robinson  when  I  became  a  citizen.  In  an  address  de- 
livered at  the  dedication  of  the  present  court  house  I  gave 
a  detailed  history  of  the  building  of  court  houses  in  the 
county,  and  in  General  Palmer's  history  of  the  Bench 
and  Bar  of  Illinois  a  chapter  written  by  Hon.  Wm.  C 
Jones  and  myself  gives  a  history  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  of 
Crawford  county.  To  avoid  repetition  I  refer  you  to 
these  authorities  for  full  information  in  relation  to  courts 
and  court  houses  in  the  county. 

The  era  of  real  pioneer  life  in  Crawford  county  had 
passed  when  I  came.  The  men  and  women  whose  right 
to  the  title  of  pioneers  and  old  settlers  must  stand  un- 
challenged were  here  long  before  me,  and  had  borne  the 
burdens  and  waged  the  hard  battles  that  were  inevitable 
on  the  skirmish  line  of  an  advancing  civilization. 

The  conquest  and  settlement  of  a  new  country,  no 
matter  how  rich  its  soil,  or  how  fair  its  prairie  fields  or 
forest  ranges,  is  a  hard  battle  with  hostile  forces  and  is 
never  won  except  through  suffering,  and  the  sacrifice  of 
human  life.    Crawford  county  has  been  no  exception  to 
this  law  of  suffering  and  sacrifice.    Its  soil  was  reddened 
with  the  blood  of  the  Hutson  family  and  of  McCall,  the 
surveyor,  who  perished  at  the  hands  of  the  retiring  sav- 
ages.   The  land  was  beautifully  fair,  and  was  spanned 
with  the  rainbow  of  hope  and  promise,  but  its  transfor- 
mation from  wild  uncultivated  savagery  to  full  civiliza- 
tion moved  onward  slowly   and   at  high   cost.     Many 
strong  men  fell,  and  many  brave,  true  hearted  women 
sank  under  the  burdens  that  seemed  to  be  the  necessary 
incidents  of  their  pioneer  life.    Infancy  also  paid  a  heavy 
tribute  to  the  cause.     The  record  of  those  costly  sacri- 


222  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

fices  was  written  in  unmarked  mounds  of  earth,  and  the 
frail  monuments  that  stood  for  a  time  in  private  burial 
places  that  still  dotted  the  county  when  I  came  into  it, 
The  most  of  these  have  since  been  obliterated,  and  noth- 
ing remains  to  mark  the  place  where  the  sleeping  dust  of 
these  early  pioneers  awaits  the  resurrection. 

In  the  year  1849  a  large  part  of  the  land  in  Crawford 
county  still  belonged  to  the  United  States  and  was  being- 
sold  at  the  land  office  at  Palestine  at  one  dollar  and  twen- 
ty-five cents  an  acre.  Judge  James  McLain  was  register, 
and  Hon.  Jesse  K.  Dubois  was  receiver.  Nothing  but 
silver  and  gold  would  buy  land.  "Land  Office  Money'' 
was  often  very  scarce,  and  so  hard  to  obtain  that  it  often 
sold  at  a  handsome  premium. 

The  first  settlers  in  the  county  located  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Palestine.  When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out 
these  settlers  came  together  and  built  a  wooden  stock- 
ade, which  they  called  Fort  LaMotte,  and  gathered  into 
it  for  protection  from  the  hostile  Indians  who  were  still 
roaming  about  the  country.  Some  of  the  Batons  went  out 
from  Fort  LaMotte  and  built  a  fort  of  their  own  and  oc- 
cupied it.  Among  these  early  settlers  about  Palestine 
were  some  strong,  well  educated  men  who  became  promi- 
nent in  the  history  of  the  county  and  state.  They  left  a 
lasting  impression  on  the  social  and  business  relations 
of  the  county.  Palestine  became  and  long  remained  the 
social  and  business  center  of  Southeastern  Illinois. 

The  first  settlers  clung  very  closely  to  the  timber  and 
the  water  courses.  The  open  prairies  were  avoided  until 
a  later  day.  Before  I  came  to  Illinois  and  long  after- 
wards, I  heard  serious  discussion  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
great  prairies  could  ever  be  settled.  The  objection  was 
urged  with  all  seriousness  that  there  was  no  timber  with 
which  the  land  could  be  fenced.  It  seems  never  to  have 
dawned  upon  the  minds  of  these  early  settlers,  or  of  the 
statesmen  in  charge  of  public  affairs,  that  lands  could  be 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN 


•cultivated,  and  crops  raised  and  harvested  'without  a 
barricade  of  heavy  oak  rails.  And  the  conscience  of  the 
settler  seems  not  to  have  been  satisfied  unless  the  rails 
were  made  on  ' '  Congress  land. "  In  a  few  years  congress 
land  was  exhausted,  and  under  compulsion  the  settler 
resorted  to  his  own  land  and  timber  for  his  rails.  For 
long  years  the  toilsome  and  expensive  process  went  on. 
Rails  continued  to-be  hauled  long  and  weary  miles  to 
fence  new  farms  that  were  being  pushed  farther  out  into 
the  prairies. 

In  the  meantime  the  question  was  being  discussed 
as  to  whether  fields  should  be  fenced  or  domestic  animals 
should  be  restrained.  This  question  was  carried  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  that  high  tribunal  held  the  law  to 
"be  that  the  fields  must  be  surrounded  with  a  fence  suf- 
ficient to  turn  the  ordinary  stock  of  the  neighborhood, 
though  somewhat  unruly.  I  joined  the  party  that  advo- 
cated the  restraint  of  the  animals,  and  it  is  now  one  of  the 
agreeable  memories  of  my  life  that  as  a  citizen  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,  and  as  a  member  of  its  Legislature,  I  bore 
an  active  and  responsible  part  in  the  passage  of  law  re- 
quiring the  owners  of  domestic  animals  to  restrain  then} 
on  their  own  premises  and  making  such  owners  responsi- 
ble for  all  damages  done  by  their  animals  when  not  re- 
strained according  to  law. 

At  the  time  I  became  a  citizen  of  the  county  of  Craw- 
ford the  conquest  of  civilization  was  far  from  complete. 
The  battle  was  still  going  on.  The  unbroken  prairies 
were  still  covered  with  the  coarse  wild  grasses  that  had 
waved  over  them  for  centuries  past,  and  was  the  cause  of 
devastating  fires  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  time. 
My  memory  recalls  one  of  these  fires.  It  was  an  evening 
in  April,  1849.  Myself  and  two  brothers  were  at  the  resi- 
dence of  my  uncle  Isaac  Green  in  Hart's  Grove.  Uncle 
and  his  four  sons,  and  myself  and  brothers  were  together 
in  front  of  the  house,  when  a  Mr.  Newlin  rode  up  hastily 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

and  said  the  prairie  was  on  fire  down  towards  the  Van- 
dalia  road.  My  uncle's  fann  extended  half  a  mile  south 
in  the  paririe.  Outside  of  the  south  fence  there  was  a 
new  road  that  had  been  traveled  enough  to  partially 
kill  the  grass  within  its  limits.  All  hands  were  hurried 
to  this  road.  The  wind  was  from  the  south,  and  the 
distant  line  of  fire  was  advancing  rapidly.  The  grass  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road  was  set  on  fire,  and  those  not  en- 
gaged in  firing  were  set  to  work  to  whip  out  the  fire  and 
prevent  it  from  crossing  the  road  into  the  farm.  It  was  a 
busy  time  for  all  of  us.  The  fire  was  advancing  from  the 
south  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Its  roaring  and  crackling 
sounds  were  threats  of  destruction  to  whatever  might  be 
in  its  way.  Clouds  of  smoke  arose  above  the  flames  that 
lit  the  sky  above  them.  The  wings  of  hundreds  of  fright- 
ened prairie  hens  beat  the  heated  air,  and  made  such 
music  as  my  ears  had  never  before  listened  to.  A  brace 
of  deer  passed  our  firing  line  in  their  flight.  The  wave  of 
flame  reached  the  line  of  our  back  firing  and  sank  down 
exhausted.  The  livid  tongues  of  fire  grew  pale  and  then 
vanished  into  the  darkness  of  night.  The  boastful  voice 
of  the  conflagration  became  silent.  The  clouds  of  smoke 
lingered  awhile  over  the  burned  and  blackened  land  and 
then  melted  away.  The  farms  were  saved  by  the  back 
firing,  and  darkness  and  silence  covered  the  fire-swept 
plain. 

On  account  of  their  necessities  the  early  pioneers 
had  built  water  mills  on  streams  that  have  long  since  run 
dry,  and  other  mills  that  were  moved  by  horse  power,  or 
by  the  tramp  of  oxen  on  the  great  revolving  wheel  that 
moved  the  machinery  that  ground  the  grain  into  coarse 
meal  or  bad  flour,  or  carded  wool  into  rolls  ready  for  the 
spinning  wheel  that  made  music  in  almost  every  home  in 
the  county.  These  crude  monuments  of  the  necessities 
and  privations  of  pioneer  times  were  still  here  when  I 
came.  The  fluttering  wheels  of  the  Barlow  mill  on  Hut- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  225 

son  creek,  Varner's  rail!  on  "Willow  Creek,  Ream's  mill 
on  North  Fork,  and  the  Shaker  mill  on  the  Embarras 
were  still  belabored  by  the  inconstant  waters  of  these 
streams.  The  oxen  of  Jo  Starr,  Nicholas  Fesler  and  Dan- 
iel Rumble  were  still  making  the  wheels  go  around  by 
their  wear}7"  march  on  the  tread  wheel.  At  Eaton's  horse 
mill  the  man  or  boy  with  a  grist  might  hitch  and  drive 
his  own  team  while  a  stream  of  coarse  meal  emerged  so 
tiny  that  it  seemed  to  invite,  rather  than  repel,  the  wolf 
of  hunger. 

The  Wabash  river  was  the  only  line  of  travel,  and  of 
commercial  communication  available  to  those  who  in- 
habitated  and  cultivated  the  rich  lands  bordering  upon 
the  river.  Steam  boats  and  "broad  horns"  carried  the 
products  of  the  land  to  such  markets  as  were  to  be  found 
on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  to  none  other.  The  markets 
of  the  East  and  North  were  as  much  closed  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Wabash  valley  as  if  they  did  not  exist. 

Local  industry,  and  much  of  that  very  unskillful, 
supplied  farming  utensils  of  a  very  inferior  quality. 
The  music  of  the  spinning  wheel,  the  treadle  of  the  flax 
wheel,  the  snap  of  the  reel,  the  revolutions  of  the  wind- 
ing blade,  and  the  clang  of  the  weaver's  loom  were  still 
telling  the  story  of  the  clothing  made  and  worn  by  pi- 
oneers during  the  long  and  bitter  campaign  carried  on 
by  them  to  conquer  the  land  from  savagery. 

The  tanyards  of  Martin  at  Palestine,  of  Barbee  at 
Robinson  and  Wood  at  Bell  air  were  supplying  semi-raw- 
hide leather,  out  of  which  many  were  making  the  family 
shoes  on  straight  lasts.  These  straight  shoes  were  worn 
one  foot  one  day  and  on  the  other  foot  the  next  day  to 
prevent  them  from  wearino:,  and  running  down  sideways 
and  were  liberally  greased  with  lard  or  tallow  to  prevent 
them  from  becoming  unendurably  hard  and  stiff.  „ 

Across  the  prairies  oxen  were  slowly  pulling  the 
great  plows  that  broke  and  turned  the  tough  sod  that  had 


226  •       AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

been  at  rest  for  ages  past.  Clouds  of  miasmic  vapors 
arose  from  the  decaying  vegetation  thus  turned  up  to  the 
sun  and  air  to  die.  That  pestilent  enemy  of  civilization, 
torment  of  animals,  and  plague  of  mankind,  the  green- 
head  fly.  swarmed  over  the  prairies,  invaded  the  fields 
and  infested  the  woods.  Neither  sunshine  or  rain,  calm  or 
storm  stayed  his  pestilent  activity,  and  darkness  was  but 
a  cloud  to  conceal  his  malevolent  means  of  disturbing 
the  peace  of  animals  and  men. 

The  hiss  of  the  rattler  often  caused  one  to  recoil  in 
fear  and  retire  from  the  place  whence  the  hiss  came. 
Out  in  a  wide  prairie  I  came  across  a  large  rattler  that 
manifested  a  disposition  to  dispute  the  right  of  way  with 
me.  The  curse  of  Eden  was  upon  him,  and  the  duty  of 
his  destruction  was  upon  me.  But  neither  stick  nor  stone 
could  I  find.  The  grass  that  would  not  down  the  boy  that 
stole  the  old  man's  apples  could  not  prevail  against  this 
saucy  and  venomous  serpent.  I  was  too  fearful,  and  too 
cautious  for  my  own  safety  to  bring  my  heel  into  requi- 
sition in  order  to  bruise  his  head.  But  the  duty  was  upon 
me.  T  unbuckled  a  saddle  stirrup  and  with  that  as  a 
weapon  I  discharged  my  duty. 

Log  meeting  houses  were  still  in  use,  and  such  places 
as  Mount  Zion  and  Canaan  were  hallowed  grounds.  Log 
school  houses,  such  as  are  described  by  Mr.  0.  "W.  Gogin 
in  "Country  Jake"  were  scattered  all  over  the  county. 
In  1850  one  was  built  in  the  Wilkin  neighborhood.  I  car- 
ried up  a  corner  at  its  building,  and  in  the  winter  of  1850- 
51  I  taught  school  in  it.  My  .pupils  were  all  in  the  first 
grade.  Classes  other  than  spelling  classes  were  scarcely 
known  in  country  schools  at  that  time.  Instruction  was 
individual  and  personal.  It  had  not  then  become  the 
fashion  to  put  blockheads,  niediocres  and  bright  boys  and 
girls  into  one  class,  and  put  the  whole  party,  the  dull  and 
the  witty,  through  the  same  paces  and  at  the  same  gait. 
The  horse  and  the  ox  had  sometimes  been  matched  to 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  227 

gether  on  the  farm,  but  the  example  had  not  been  carried 
into  the  schools. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  farm  dwelling  houses 
were  built  of  hewed  or  round  logs.  The  house  builder 
was  the  man  with  the  broadaxe  who  could  hew  to  the  line. 
I  had  a  little  experience  when  I  came.  My  first  days' 
t  work  in  Illinois  was  to  assist  in  taking  down  and  rebuild- 
ing a  cat  and  clay  chimney,  and  this  was  followed  by  an- 
other very  much  like  it.  1  chinked  and  daubed  a  cabin 
for  Wellington  Hill,  and  another  for  my  uncle  John  Glaze. 
I  sometimes  hear  men  and  women  talk  of  good  old  times. 
I  have  been  happy  as  year  by  year  the  old  times  have 
yielded  to  the  new,  and  I  now  rejoice  that  these  old  days 
of  hardship  and  privation  are  gone  and  can  never  return. 

The  roads  were  mere  trails  staked  across  the  prairies 
and  blazed  through  the  timber,  and  the  underbrush  and 
a  few  saplings  removed.  There  were  but  few  bridges, 
and  these  were  hastily  built  of  such  material  as  chanced 
to  be  available  at  the  time.  When  the  streams  were 
swollen  journeys  were  delayed  until  the  flood  subsided. 

Wrhen  I  became  a  citizen  of  the  county  I  joined  the 
procession  and  have  marched  in  it  with  my  face  to  the 
front  ever  since.  I  have  never  opposed  or  voted  against 
any  measure  that  had  upon  it  the  genuine  label  of  im- 
provement. While  the  development  of  southern  Illinois 
has  been  slow,  it  has  been  sure  and  reasonably  satisfac- 
tory. Great  business  changes  have  taken  place.  The 
river  has  surrendered  its  commerce  to  the  railroads  that 
have  been  built  and  which  carry  the  products  of  the 
country  out  to  the  markets  of  the  world. 

The  crude  and  expensive  manufactures  which  were 
born  of  necessity  have  surrendered  to  the  large  factories 
located  in  business  centers  and  by  the  combination  of 
skilled  labor  and  machinery  produce  better  goods  at  less 
cost  than  they  could  be  made  at  home.  This  change  has 
lifted  a  burden  off  the  women  of  the  country  so  great  that 


228  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

we  look  back  now  and  wonder  how  our  mothers,  wives 
and  sisters  endured  the  toil  that  was  necessarily  incident 
to  the  duties  they  performed  so  well. 

In  the  olden  time  the  means  of  transporting  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  farms  to  markets,  and  the  privilege  of  pur- 
chasing supplies  in  markets  where  the  things  needed 
were  abundant  and  could  be  purchased  at  reasonable 
prices,  were  the  great  and  keenly  felt  wants  of  the  people. 
Two  railroads  opened  up  the  desired  markets,  gave  a 
lively  impulse  to  business  and  largely  increased  the  abil- 
ity of  the  people  to  obtain  the  necessities,  comforts  and 
luxuries  desired  in  their  homes.  Robinson  has  grown  in- 
to a  beautiful  city,  noted  for  its  progressive  and  enter- 
prising spirit.  Its  banks  furnish,  on  easy  terms,  the 
money  by  which  business  is  conducted,  and  public  and 
private  credit  is  sustained.  Its  large  stocks  of  merchan- 
dise supply  whatever  the  citizen  may  need.  Its  mer- 
chants have  brought  the  long  desired  markets  home  to 
the  people.  Its  churches,  schools  and  benevolent  orders 
testify  to  the  intelligent,  moral  and  religious  character 
of  the  community.  They  are  all  on  a  high  plane.  I 
should  regret  to  know  that  there  now  lived  in  the  county 
any  citizen  who  felt  no  pride  in  the  clean  and  beautiful 
city  that  is  the  county  seat  of  Crawford  county.  Oblong 
has  grown  up  like  a  lustrous  gem  in  the  prairie  and  has 
fairly  won  its  title  as  ' '  The  Gem  City. ' '  The  spirit  of  im- 
provement is  alive  and  wide  awake  among  its  citizens. 
The  evidence  of  this  fact  is  to  be  found  in  its  churches, 
schools,  business  houses,  fine  residences  and  paved  streets. 

Jones'  Store  has  grown  into  one  of  the  thriving  vil- 
lages of  Southern  Illinois,  and  by  the  name  of  Flat  Rock 
is  well  known  on  account  of  the  intelligent  and  enterpris- 
ing character  and  reputation  of  its  business  men.  Re- 
cently it  was  almost  swept  out  of  existence  by  a  destruc- 
tive fire.  But  it  will  rise  again  out  of  the  ashes  and  be  as 
thrifty  and  attractive  as  it  was  before. 


ETHELRERT  CALLAHAN  229 

Annapolis  has  emerged  from  the  obscurity  of  "Four 
Corners ' '  and  grown  into  a  substantial  village  with  good 
business  houses,  and  neat  and  comfortable  homes  that 
give  evidence  of  the  thrift  and  refined  taste  of  the  resi- 
dents of  the  village.  A  bank  supplies  such  surplus  money 
as  is  needed  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  village  and 
surrounding  country.  The  school  and  church  buildings 
are  a  good  index  to  .the  high  intellectual,  moral  and  re- 
ligious tone  of  the  community. 

West  York  is  a  new  village  sitting  3il;o  a  queen  on 
a  hill  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Wabash.  Its  resi- 
dences, business  houses,  school  and  church  buildings  are 
all  good,  and  speak  loudly  in  praise  of  the  men  and  wom- 
en who  have  built,  and  now  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
thrifty  village. 

Hutsonville  is  a  pioneer  Wabash  river  village.  It 
dates  well  back  into  the  early  days  of  the  State  and  cOun- 
ty.  It  .is  the  only  village  in  the  county  situated  directly 
on  the  river.  It  early  became,  and  still  remains,  an  im- 
portant trading  point.  Its  growth  as  a  village  has  been 
slow,  but  it  has  never  lost  its  place  in  the  business,  nor  its 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  county.  It  is  well  supplied 
with  church  and  school  buildings.  Its  bank  and  the 
large  stocks  of  goods  kept  by  its  merchants  keep  it  in 
the  procession  of  improvement  that  is  moving  on  towards 
better  and  happier  conditions. 

The  village  of  Palestine  came  into  existence  with  the 
first  settlement  of  the  county.  It  appears  to  have  been 
born  in  Fort  LaMotte,  or  in  the  house  of  Edward  N. 
Cullom.  Perhaps  the  honor  should  be  divided  between 
them.  For  about  thirty  years  it  had  advantages  over  all 
the  other  villages.  The  county  seat  was  located  there  by 
the  act  of  territorial  Legislature  creating  the  territorial 
period.  The  United  States  land  office  was  .located  there 
and  remained  after  the  county  seat  was  removed  to  Eob- 
inson.  It  was,  for  many  years,  the  political,  business  and 


230  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

social  center  for  a  large  part  of  South  Eastern  Illinois. 
With  these  advantages  its  growth  and  development,  until 
recent  years,  was  slow.  The  building  of  two  railroads 
stirred  its  pulse  to  a  quicker  beat,  and  awoke  it  to  a  new- 
life.  Carried  along  by  the  current  of  progress  the  village 
has  grown  rapidly  in  later  years.  Its  business  men  are 
wide  awake  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  village 
and  surrounding  country. 

The  progress  that  I  have  witnessed  is  not  confined 
to  the  villages.  The  highways  of  the  county  have  been 
cleared  and  graded,  and  many  miles  of  them  covered  with 
gravel  and  broken  stone. 

Nearly  all  of  the  creeks  are  spanned  with  substantial 
bridges  of  iron,  concrete  or  wood,  and  the  work  of  mak- 
ing hard  roads  is  still  in  rapid  progress.  The  hewed  log 
houses  and  scutched  down  cabins  of  pioneer  times  are  re- 
placed by  neat,  comfortable,  and  even  elegant  farm 
houses,  with  green  lawns  and  shady  lanes,  and  many 
other  evidences  of  refinement  and  culture.  The  public 
buildings  of  the  county  are  equal  to  those  of  any  of  the 
rural  counties  of  the  state.  The  court  house  and  jail,  the 
churches,  school  houses  and  the  homes  of  the  benevolent 
orders  are  all  of  a  high  type.  The  public  buildings  in  a 
county  give  the  key  note  to  the  public  spirit  and  enter- 
prise of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county. 

The  beauty  of  the  county,  outside  of  the  villages,  has 
been  seriously  marred  by  the  discovery  and  development 
of  the  oil  fields  and  the  interests  of  agriculture  have  suf- 
fered great  loss  thereby.  Many  farmers  have  left  the  cul- 
ture of  the  soil  and  no  longer  depend  on  its  production  for 
their  subsistence.  This  will  make  little  difference  in  the 
progress  and  development  of  the  county.  The  oil  fever 
is  subsiding,  dreams  of  sudden  wealth  and  lives  of  lux- 
urious idleness  are  being  dissipated.  Business  is  coming 
down  into  ways  that  are  marked  out  by  reason  and  com- 
mon sense,  and  these  ways  all  lead  back  to  the  cultiva- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  231 

tion  of  the  soil,  as  the  great  and  original  source  from 
which  the  wants  and  necessities  of  human  life  must  be 
met  and  suplied. 

In  the  oil  districts,  that  industry  will  be  confined  to 
small  portions  of  the  farms,  while  the  larger  part  will  be 
surrendered  to  agriculture.  If  the  idle  sons  of  the  newly 
rich  farmer  neglects  or  refuses  to  take  up  the  burden, 
there  will  be  others  to  come  into  their  places  and  reap  the 
harvest  of  benefits  which  the  idler  has  turned  down. 

When  the  first  pioneers  took  possession  of  the  land 
it  was  loaded  with  fatness  that  had  accumulated  for  cen- 
turies- It  was  fertile  beyond  his  dreams  and  yielded 
great  crops  almost  without  cultivation. 

I  have  seen  many  fields  of  sod  corn"  where  the  seed 
had  been  dropped  into  a  cleft  made  in  the  upturned  sod 
with  an  axe,  and  then  left  until  gathering  time.  Such  a 
crop  met  the  necessities  of  the  time.  It  could  not  be  re- 
peated on  the  same  land.  The  necessity  for  it  no  longer 
existed. 

Every  crop  grown  is  a  draft  on  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  and,  seasons  and  culture  being  equal,  each  succeed- 
ing crop  decreases  in  proportion  to  the  drafts  that  have 
been  made  by  the  production  of  former  crops.  This  pro- 
cess of  depletion  was  continued  from  year  to  year  until 
some  began  to  talk  of  worn  out  land,  as  though  such  a 
thing  were  possible.  The  lands  were  not  worn  out,  but 
only  robbed  of  the  elements  of  fertility  until  they  were 
so  hungry  and  starved  that  they  .could  not  produce 
enough  to  repay  the  labor  of  cultivation.  In  the  old  world 
countries,  lands  have  been  cultivated  for  thousands  of 
years  and  yet  amply  repay  the  farmer  for  his  labor.  Such 
lands  have  been  repaid  the  drafts  made  upon  them  by  the 
production  of  preceding  crops.  The  American  farmer 
must  profit  by  the  experience  of  the  farmers  of  the  older 
nations.  Many  Crawford  county  farmers  have  been  tak- 
ing lessons  and  are  repaying  to  their  farms  that  which 


232  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

successive  cultivation  without  fertilization  has  taken 
away.  There  is  no  question  of  politics,  even  in  the  in- 
tensely exciting  campaign  of  the  present  year,  that  so  di- 
rectly, or  so  largely  concerns  the  citizens  of  Crawford 
county,  as  how  best  and  most  effectively  to  conserve  the 
fertility  of  the  soil.  The  usefulness  of  the  County  Farm- 
ers' Institute  would  be  increased  a  hundred  fold  if  the 
platform  lecturers,  with  their  sterotyped  platitudes,  were 
dispensed  with,  and  all  the  time  and  money  available  de- 
voted to  the  collection  and  publication  of  the  experiences 
of  Crawford  county  farmers  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil, 
and  the  planting  and  cultivation  of  crops  on  their  respec- 
tive farms.  To  a  very  large  extent  practical  and  useful 
knowledge  of  farming  must  be  acquired  by  actual  ex- 
periment, and  by  careful  observation  of  the  experiments 
of  practical  and  successful  farmers.  Agricultural  books 
,and  papers,  and  the  training  given  at  agricultural  col- 
leges, are  useful,  but  owing  to  the  diversity  of  soils,  va- 
rieties of  seeds,  the  change  of  seasons  and  climatic  condi- 
tions, they  are  of  little  value  unless  followed  and  tested 
by  actual  experience  on  the  farm.  It  is  not  safe  to  accept 
the  untested  theories  of  men  or  books  and  blindly  follow 
them.  They  are  sometimes  right,  but  I  have  also  found 
them  to  be  both  expensive  and  unproductive. 

The  soil  must  be  fed  to  pay  the  overdrafts  that  have 
been  made  upon  it.  The  important  and  pressing  question 
is,  how  and  with  what  shall  it  be  fed  ?  The  farm  does  not 
make  enough  manure  to  maintain  its  fertility.  Commer- 
cial fertilizers  are  too  expensive  for  general  use  over  the 
farm.  They  may  be  used  to  advantage  in  the  garden  and 
truck  patch.  The  fields  must  rely  on  crops  grown  upon 
them  and  plowed  under.  Clover,  rye  and  field  peas,  may 
be  successfully  used  for  this  purpose.  All  these  I  have 
tested. 

It  was  one  hundred  years  ago  that  the  first  footprints 
of  the  white  men  were  planted  on  the  soil  of  Crawford 


ETHELBEKT  CALL  AH  AN  233 

county.    A  hundred  years  since  a  few  white  men  came 
together,  threatened  by  a  common  danger,  and  built  a  log 
fortess  for  the  protection  of  themselves  and  their  wives 
and  children  from  the  bands  of  Indians  who  were  still 
Toaming  about  the  country.     This  was  Fort  LaMotte, 
where  the  village  of  Palestine  now  is.    The  Indian  de- 
parted and  the  white  man  remained  in  undisputed  pos- 
session of  the  land.   The  white  man  has  built  villages  and 
homes,  and  made  farms,  and  into  and  about  these  he  has 
gathered  and  established  the  elements  of  a  high  type  of 
civilization.    Let  memory  turn,  for  a  moment,  to  the  first 
year  of  the  white  man's  occupation,  and  compare  it  with 
this  present  year,  and  behold  the  transformation.     As 
memory  returns  let  it  note  the  intervening  years  one  by 
one  and  contemplate  the  events  which  have  marked  the 
coming  and  going  of  each,  and  the  combined  result  of  the 
labor,  toil  and  sacrifice  of  each  and  all  of  them.    Abun- 
dant occasion  will  be  found  to  congratulate  ourselves  and 
those  who  have  gone  before  iis.    The  wilderness  has  be- 
come a  fruitful  land.    The  trail  of  the  savage  and  warrior 
has  been  supplemented  by  highways,  hedged  about  with 
that  security  and  safety  that  is  born  of  Christian  civili- 
zation and  law.     The  cabin  of  the  pioneer  has  disap- 
peared, and  in  its  place  stand  homes  where  comfort 
abounds,  and  luxury  very  often  intrudes.    The  necessity 
that  made  the  home  of  each  settler  a  manufactory  for  the 
clothing  of  the  family,  and  burdened  mothers,  wives  and 
sisters  with  hard  and  ceaseless  labor,  has  passed  away, 
and  leisure  and  reading  and  study  and  the  indulgence  of 
social  pleasures  has  come  into  these  homes.    The  crude 
garments  in  which  necessity  clothed  the  early  settlers 
have  yielded  to  garments  of  better  texture  and  more 
comely  patterns.    Sewing  machines  have  come  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  weary  fingers  of  the  needle  woman.    The  organ, 
piano,  violin  and  other  musical  instruments  charm  away 
dull  hours,  and  soothe  troubled  spirits  in  homes  all  over 


234  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

the  county.  The  daily  mail  with  books,  newspapers  and 
magazines,  comes  to  every  door,  and  the  parcels  post  is 
now  in  sight.  The  log  built  churches  have  moldered  into 
the  earth,  and  in  city,  village  and  country  are  temples  of 
wood,  brick  and  stone  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God.  Neatly  built,  and  well  furnished  school 
houses,  free  to  every  child  of  school  age,  dot  the  county 
over,  and  the  high  school  affords  opportunity  to  all  who 
desire  a  more  thorough  education  than  the  graded  school 
supplies. 

The  sickle  and  the  scythe  and  grain  cradle,  the  flail, 
the  threshing  floor  and  the  fanning  mill  have  disappeared 
from  the  farms,  and  the  mower  and  the  reaper  sweep  over 
the  meadows  and  harvest  fields.  The  steam  threshes, 
winnows,  measures  and  loads  the  grain  into  wagons. 
This  change  for  the  better  runs  through  the  entire  list  of 
farm  utensils  and  household  goods.  The  work  is  better 
done,  and  the  burden  of  labor  is  made  lighter. 

By  telegraph  and  telephone  we  are  in  daily  com- 
munication with  the  whole  world.  The  stage  coach  of  the 
early  years  has  gone  and  taken  with  it  the  slow,  weari- 
some and  expensive  mode  of  travel  that  prevailed  during 
the  first  half  of  our  one  hundred  years  of  county  history. 
The  automobile  now  speeds  us  on  errands  of  business, 
mercy  and  pleasure.  Our  two  railroads  bear  us  away  on 
our  longer  journeys,  and  give  us  easy  access  to  the  mark- 
ets of  the  world. 

The  successors  of  Darius  Green  are  making  machines 
that  fly  and  bear  burdens  through  the  upper  air.  These 
are  now  in  the  stage  of  experiment,  and  the  experiment 
is  taking  fearful  toll  of  human  life.  But  so  much  has 
been  accomplished  that  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  pro- 
nounce aerial  navigation  a  failure.  It  is  pregnant  with 
hope  and  promise. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  235 

We  have  caught  the  lightning  and  put  it  safely  into 
leading  strings  so  that  it  submissively  lights  our  homes, 
our  cities  and  villages,  propels  useful  machinery  and 
drives  railroad  trains  whithersoever  we  will  that  they 
•should  go. 

It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  a  full  enumeration  of  the 
achievements  of  the  one  hundred  years  of  our  history. 
They  are  too  many  and  too  important.  They  touch  life 
and  living  at  every  point  and  make  its  tasks  easier,  and 
its  joys  sweeter  than  before  they  came.  Comparing  the 
past  with  the  present  we  join  in  the  song  of  triumph  that 

1 '  It  is  ours  to  live  in  favored  times, 
When  scenes  of  beauty  rise, 

Behold  the  mind  transforming  earth, 
And  ranging  through  the  skies." 


236  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  THE  HOME  COMING 

YALE,  ILLINOIS,  AUGUST  15,  1913 

FELLOW  CITIZENS: 

I  thank  you  for  the  privilege  of  joining,  with  you,  in 
the  pleasures  of  this  occasion.  The  first  public  speech 
that  I  ever  made  in  Jasper  county,  was  in  the  village 
of  Yale,  July  4, 1856.  I  have  since  then,  addressed  many 
Jasper  county  audiences.  As  a  lawyer  I  practiced  for 
many  years  in  your  courts.  Tn  this  time  I  made  many 
acquaintances  and  friends.  I  am  happy  in  having  long 
enjoyed  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  people  of  good 
old  Jasper  county.  As  the  burden  of  years  came  upon 
me,  I  quit  the  courts  of  all  the  counties  except  the  one  in 
which  I  live.  I  have  now  given  up  my  law  practice  en- 
tirely, that  I  might  have  the  rest  and  quiet  earned  by 
a  life  of  labor,  but  labor  that  I  loved  while  engaged  in 
it.  In  this  period  of  rest,  old  time  acquaintances  and 
friends  become  dearer  to  me  and  I  seek  their  company 
with  more  eager  interest.  I  came  here  today  hoping  to 
meet  many  old  friends  and  make  some  new  ones. 

Your  very  kind  letter  of  invitation  informed  me  that 
this  meeting  was  an  annual  homecoming  of  neighbors, 
kindred  and  friends:  a  return  of  sons  and  daughters  to 
the  old  homes  where  they  were  born,  and  from  whence 
they  all  went  out  into  the  world  to  make  the  battle  of 
life  for  themselves  and  for  the  children  whom  the  provi- 
dence of  God  might  commit  to  their  care.  On  this  oc- 
casion memory  turns  back  and  retraces  the  way  of  life 
until  it  stands  in  the  presence  of  the  pioneer  home  build- 
ers of  the  county.  The  way  is  not  very  long.  It  does  not 
span  a  century. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  237 

One  hundred  years  ago  Jasper  county  was  the  hunting 
ground  of  the  Indian  and  the  home  of  wild  animals  and 
venomous  reptiles.  The  foot  of  the  white  man  had  made 
no  tracks  upon  its  soil.  It  was  the  smoke  of  the  wig- 
wam, and  not  of  the  cabin,  that  curled  above  its  forests 
and  prairies.  The  spirit  of  change  had  never  breathed 
upon  it.  It  was  not  stirred  by  any  premonition  of  the  tide 
of  civilization  that  was  advancing  upon  it  from  the  east 
and  south,  to  possess  and  transform  it.  It  had  not  heard 
the  tramp  of  the  pioneer,  who  with  his  ax  and  his  rifle  was 
pushing  his  way  toward  it,  in  sep.rch  of  newer  and  wider 
fields  in  which  to  build  a  home  for  himself  and  the  brave 
woman  whose  confidence  and  love  his  young  manhood  had 
won  to  be  his  wife.  At  last  the  crisis  came.  The  pioneer 
arrived  and  others  were  close  behind  him.  In  the  edge 
of  a  forest  that  bordered  the  Embarrass,  or  some  other 
water  course,  the  cabin  of  round  logs  was  built.  The 
puncheon  floor;  the  hearth  of  clay  and  the  chimney  of 
sticks  and  clay;  the  clapboard  roof  held  on  with  weight- 
ing poles;  the  window  of  greased  paper;  a  blanket  for  a 
door.  Such  were  some  of  the  houses  of  our  fathers  and 
mothers  in  pioneer  days.  These  cabin  homes  increased 
in  number  until  neighborhoods  were  formed  and  social 
relations  were  established.  There  were  many  hardships 
and  privations,  but  these  were  endured  in  the  hope  of 
better  things  to  come.  The  enterprise  and  public  spirit 
of  the  settlers  prevailed  over  the  obstacles  and  difficul- 
ties of  the  hard  situation.  Public  roads  were  opened. 
Mills  to  grind  grain  and  saw  lumber  were  built.  Churches 
and  school  houses  were  erected  and  occupied.  Post  of- 
fices -were  established.  Villages  were  laid  out  and  built. 
The  county  was  organized  and  officered  and  the  law  gave 
protection  to  property,  reputation  and  life.  The  spirit 
of  progress  was  kept  alive  in  the  hearts  and  homes  of 
the  people.  As  the  farms  yielded  their  increase  better 
houses  were  built,  and  more  comforts  came  into  the 


238  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

homes.  Luxuries  followed  comforts.  The  standard  of 
living  became  higher  and  better.  In  these  homes  chil- 
dren were  born  and  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
were  married  .and  went  out  into  the  world  to  make  the 
battle  of  life  for  themselves.  They  went  out  on  widely 
divergent  paths  and  with  widely  differing  purposes  in 
view.  The  lure  of  gold  led  some  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, to  California  and  to  Alaska.  Some  were  attracted 
to  agriculture  in  the  wild  fields  of  the  great  west,  from 
the  Dakotas  to  Mexico,  while  others  have  been  content 
with  the  fields  and  farms  of  Illinois  and  other  nearby 
states. 

The  flowers  and  fruits  of  Florida,  the  Pacific  Coast 
and  the  great  plains  lying  between  the  western  mountain 
ranges  attracted  others  who  found  pleasure  and  profit 
in  horticulture.  Others  engaged  in  the  operation  of  rail- 
roads, telegraphy  and  telephones,  and  still  others  found 
employment  in  factories.  Eminent  physicians  have  gone 
out  from  these  Jasper  county  homes;  and  an  army  of 
intelligent  and  successful  teachers  have  done  honor  to 
the  homes  from  which  they  came.  Others  forsook  the 
farm  for  the  counting  house  and  store,  and  became  fac- 
tors in  the  commercial  activities  of  the  country. 

Many  rallied  around  the  flag  when  the  mad  waves 
of  secession  were  beating  against  it,  and  offered  their 
lives  to  keep  its  stars  proudly  waving  in  the  sky,  untar- 
nished and  undiminished  in  number.  These  men, 
whether  living  or  dead,  are  crowned  with  imperishable 
honor.  Your  pride  in  them  will  never  die.  Some  of  the 
sons  of  these  Jasper  county  homes  have  won  success  and 
honor  on  the  bench  and  at  the  bar.  Neither  has  the 
county  been  barren  in  the  field  of  statesmanship.  What 
citizen  of  the  county  does  not  approve  and  applaud  the 
conduct  of  Senator  Isley,  when,  in  the  State  Senate  he 
stood  squarely  for  honesty  and  decency  in  politics,  and 
fearlessly  denounced  dishonesty  and  corrupt  practices 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  230 

in  the  transaction  of  public,  as  well  as  in  private  busi- 
ness. All  have  an  honest  and  well-grounded  pride  in  men 
who  execute  public  trusts  faithfully.  Such  men  reflect 
lionor  on  the  community  and  state  in  which  they  live. 
The  public  career  of 'Hon.  George  W.  Fithian  as  your 
representative  in  Congress,  and  as  a  citizen  in  the  private 
"business  life  to  which  he  was  retired,  reflects  honor  upon 
the  county. 

Another  son  of  Jasper  county,  Hon.  Lawrence  Y. 
Sherman,  is  wearing  the  toga  of  a  United  States  Senator 
won  fairly  and  worn  with  the  pride  and  dignity  that  be- 
comes a  senator.  Men  differ  in  their  opinions  and  as  to 
the  policies  they  approve,  but  above  and  beyond  all  such 
differences  there  is  a  standard  of  manhood  to  which  we 
all  take  pleasure  ni  paying  tribute. 

Many  sons  and  daughters  who  went  out  from  these 
old  Jasper  county  homesteads  have  passed  beyond  the 
clouds  of  time.  We  know  not  the  limitations  of  the  eter- 
nal world  or  the  boundaries  thereof,  beyond  which  its 
inhabitants  may  not  pass.  May  we  not  reasonably  in- 
'Hilge  the  thought  that  our  departed  kindred  are  minis- 
tering spirits  to  us.  Memory  goes  out  to  them  and  calls 
them  home  to  us.  We  feel  that  they  answer  the  call,  and 
P. re  here  today  whispering  messages  of  peace  and  love 
into  our  hearts. 

Others  are  living,  but  conditions  are  such  that  they 
are  not  permitted  to  be  personally  present,  yet  messages 
of  thought  from  you  to  them,  and  from  them  to  you,  are 
even  now  playing  like  the  shuttles  of  a  weaver  along  the 
invisible  paths  of  the  air.  In  spirit  they  are  here  and  your 
hearts  are  wide  open  to  receive,  caress  and  love  them. 

And  now,  you.  returning  sons  and  daughters;  wrhat 
are  the  gifts  that  you  bring  to  this  feast  of  memory? 
You  have  not  returned  empty  handed.  You  have  brought 
something  of  the  treasures  that  the  years  have  gathered 
round  you,  in  your  nearby  or  far-away  homes.  Is  it  gold 


240 


from  the  mines?  Fruit  from  the  groves  of  California  or 
Florida,  the  orchards  of  Oregon  or  the  plains  that  nestle 
among  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  great  west?  Is  it 
wheat  from  Dakota,  rice  from  the  plains  of  Texas,  or 
corn  from  the  broad  fields  that  cover  half  the  Nation? 
Is  it  gems  from  the  jeweler,  fine  fabrics  from  the  marts 
of  trade  and  commerce  ?  Have  you  gathered  the  rewards 
of  labor  in  any  of  the  numerous  fields  of  industry  that 
ever  lie  open  to  the  honest,  intelligent  and  interested 
worker,  and  brought  tithes  of  the  reward  so  gathered? 
Have  you  brought  gifts  like  these  to  lay  upop  the  altar 
of  your  love  and  affection  for  the  old  home  in  which  you 
were  born?  Do  you  in  this  manner  testify  your  gratitude 
to  those  who  protected  your  infancy  and  guided  your 
feet  into  the  ways  of  honorable  and  respectable  living? 
Such  gifts  are  right  and  entirely  proper,  and  the  more 
abundant  they  are  the  more  credit  to  the  giver. 

I  trust  that  you  have  brought  richer  gifts  than  these. 
The  record  of  lives  of  honorable  industry  crowned  with  a 
good  measure  of  success,  and  adorned  with  charity  and 
good  deeds.  It  is  still  true,  and  ever  will  be,  that  a  good 
name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  riches,  and  the  good 
opinion  of  good  men  rather  than  silver  and  gold.  Clean 
lives  and  loving  hearts  are  the  richest  treasure  that  you 
can  bring  home  to  your  fathers,  mothers  and  kindred. 

I  need  not  tell  you,  for  you  know,  that  since  the  con- 
quest of  Illinois  to  the  civilization  of  the  white  man,  the 
industrial  world  has  been  revolutionized.  Bands  of  steel 
now  reach  across  the  continent,  binding  together  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  and  the  great  lakes  of 
the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  the  south.  All  alon-r 
these  steel  girders  of  the  continent  the  power  of  steam 
carries  currents  of  travel  and  commerce  hitherto  not 
dreamed  of.  Immense  ships  cross  the  ocean  in  as  many 
days  as  the  sailing  vessels  of  the  olden  time  required 
weeks  to  make  the  passage.  The  great  lakes  are  trav- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  241 

ersed  by  luxurious  floating  palaces,  and  the  steamboat 
has  driven  the  flat-boat  and  the  keel-boat  from  the  rivers. 
Automobiles  out-speeding  the  swiftest  horse,  ond  with 
muscles  and  nerves  that  never  tire",  speed  us  on  our  er- 
rands of  business  and  our  excursions  of  pleasure.  The 
aeroplane  has  conquered  the  air  and  sails  through  the 
sky.  The  telegraph  with  its  lightning  motor  and  paths  of 
wire,  carries  its  messages  over  all  distances  far  and  near 
and  ticks  them  into  the  ear  of  the  operator.  Leaping 
away  from  the  wires  it  now  sends  its  messages  a  thous- 
and miles  through  the  trackless  realms  of  the  air.  The 
telegraph  spans  every  ocean,  and  girdles  the  globe. 

The  telephone  carries  the  living  human  voice  along 
its  slender  wires  and  we  transact  business,  talk  with 
our  neighbors,  and  hold  instantaneous  conversation 
across  a  thousand  intervening  miles.  Speech,  song  and 
story  are  recorded,  laid  by,  reproduced  and  repeated  at 
will.  The  sewing  machine  came  into  our  homes  and  fac- 
tories and  gave  relief  to  the  weary  fingers  of  the  needle 
woman  and  the  tailor.  The  tallow  dip  candle  is  supplant- 
ed by  the  coal  oil  and  the  gasoline  lamp  in  the  small 
villages  and  the  farm  homes,  while  the.  larger  villages 
and  the  cities  are  lighted  by  gas  and  electricity.  Elec- 
tricity, in  metal  harness,  is  a  great  and  wonderful  worker. 
It  bears  many  burdens,  and  accomplishes  many  useful 
tasks  in  the  service  of  humanity. 

The  beating  flail  and  the  treading  horses  have  gone 
from  the  threshing  floor  and  in  their  stead  came  the  ma- 
chine that  threshes,  winnows  and  measures  the  grain  and 
stacks  the  straw.  The  hand-sickle  is  almost  forgotten 
and  men  no  longer  bend  their  backs  to  the  swing  of  the 
scythe  and  cradle.  The  mowing  machine  and  the  binder 
sweep  evenly  over  the  meadows  and  harvest  fields.  I 
can  not  enumerate.  It  is  an  impossibility  to  do  30. 

On  the  farms,  in  the  homes,  in  village  and  city,  in 
every  industrial  occupation,  and  in  every  line  of  business 


242  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

the  progressive  spirit  has  been  awake  and  busy.  Its  ac- 
complishments are  our  heritage.  They  are  ours  to  pos- 
sess, to  use  and  to  enjoy. 

It  is  my  wish  and  prayer  that  this  home  coming  may 
be  filled  with  satisfaction  to  all  who  participate  in  it. 
That  friendship,  love  and  truth  may  prevail,  and  that 
when  you  have  returned  to  your  homes,  whether  they 
be  nearby  or  far  away,  pleasant  memories  of  this  meeting 
may  remain  with  you  through  life,  and  that  the  love  and 
peace  of  our  Father  in  Heaven  may  be  and  remain  with 
you  forever. 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  243 


IN  MEMORY  OF  JUDGE  WILSON 

ADDRESS  AT  PRESENTATION  OF  PORTRAIT,  JULY  8.  1915 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

I  am  here  by  invitation  of  the  Lawrence  County  Bar 
Association  to  participate  in  a  ceremony  that  is  of  interest 
to  every  citizen  of  the  county.  We  are  here  to  honor  the 
name,  and  perpetuate  the  memory  of  a  distinguished 
jurist,  who  was  a  familiar  figure  in  the  early  history  of  the 
state  and  county.  I  am  grateful  for  the  privilege  of  being 
here.  I  have  received  many  favors  from  the  people  of 
this  county  and  to  be  in  this  court  room  again,  seems 
like  "tenting  on  the  old  camp  ground." 

William  Wilson  was  born  in  Lowden  county  in  the 
state  of  Virginia  in  the  year  1794.  His  father  died  when 
he  was  quite  young,  and  his  mother  placed  him  in  a  retail 
store,  intending  to  qualify  him  for  a  life  of  business.  The 
lure  of  books  led  him  to  neglect  his  duties  in  the  store. 
His  mind  was  not  satisfied,  and  was  reaching  out  in  an- 
other direction.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  Hon.  John  Cook,  who  ranked  high  at  the 
Virginia  Bar.  At  twenty-three  he  had  finished  his  legal 
studies  and  been  admitted  to  practice.  He  came  to  Illi- 
nois to  find  a  home  and  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  his 
chosen  profession. 

I  came  to  Illinois  about  three  months  after  Judge 
Wilson  retired  to  private  life.  I  often  heard  him  spoken 
of  by  citizens  of  the  county  as  a  Judge  and  as  a  man,  and 
never  heard  a  word  to  his  discredit.  All  whom  I  heard 
speak  of  him,  praised  him.  My  personal  acquaintance 
with  him  was  brief  and  pleasant.  In  1853  I  was  living  at 
a  hotel  in  Hutsonville.  One  summer  day  an  elderly  gen- 


244  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

tleman  stopped  for  dinner.  I  noticed  him,  and  knew  from 
his  dress  and  courtly  manner,  that  he  was  more  than  an 
ordinary  man.  At  the  dinner  table  we  fell  into  a  con- 
versation in  which  he  told  me  that  he  was  Judge  Wilson. 
Our  conversation  had  not  ended  when  the  dinner  was 
over,  and  we  retired  to  the  shade  of  the  hotel  and  talked 
away  the  afternoon.  He  was  to  me,  a  most  charming 
talker.  He  told  me  of  the  early  history  of  the  state,  and 
of  the  men  who  had  been  actors  in  making  such  history. 
His  word  pictures  of  some  of  the  men  with  whom  he 
had  been-  associated  were  intensely  interesting.  It  was 
a  red  letter  day  -to  me  and  remains  a  pleasant  memory. 

The  Constitution  of  1818  vested  "The  judicial  power 
of  the  state  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior 
Courts  as  the  General  Assembly  shall  ordain  and  estab- 
lish." The  Supreme  Court  to  consist  of  one  Chief  Jus- 
tice and  three  Associate  Justices,  with  power  to  increase 
the  number  of  Associate  Justices.  All  of  the  judges  were 
to  be  elected  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  to  hold  office 
during  good  behavior,  and  until  the  end  of  the  first  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Assembly  held  after  the  first  day  of 
January  A.  D.  1824. 

In  October,  1818,  the  General  Assembly  elected 
Joseph  Phillips,  Chief  Justice,  and  William  P.  Foster, 
Thomas  C.  Browne  and  John  Reynolds,  Associate  Jus- 
tices. Foster  resigned  within  a  year,  and  William  Wil- 
son was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by  Foster's 
resignation.  These  judges  were  required,  by  the  Con 
stitution,  to  hold  the  circuit  courts  in  the  several  counties 
in  such  manner,  and  at  such  times  as  the  General  As 
seinbly  should  by  law  prescribe.  Until  the  year  1825,  all 
the  circuit  courts  were  held  by  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Judge  Wilson  held  the  first  term  of  the  circuit 
court  ever  held  in  Lawrence  county,  at  the  house  of 
Toussaint  Dubois,  on  the  4th  day  of  June,  1821.  He  al- 
so held  most  of  the  terms  thereafter,  up  to,  and  includ- 


ETHELBERT  CALLAHAN  245 

ing  the  September  term,  1848.  He  retired  to  private  life 
and  died  at  his  home  near  Carmi  in  the  year  1857. 

In  1825.  the  judicial  system  of  the  state  was  revised, 
and  the  election  of  judges  of  the  Circuit  Court  was  pro- 
vided for.  Judge  Wilson  was  then  elected  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Thomas  C.  Browne,  Samuel 
D.  Lockwood  and  Theophilns  W.  Smith,  Associate  Jus- 
tices. Judge  Wilson  continued  to  be  Chief  Justice  until 
1848,  when  the  Constitution  of  1847,  went  into  effect  and 
legislated  him  out  of  office.  Under  the  Constitution  of 
1818,  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  elected  in  1825, 
were  not  required  to  hold  circuit  courts  "unless  re- 
quired by  law." 

By  an  act  of  General  Assembly  of  January  12th, 
1827,  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  again  re- 
quired to  hold  circuit  courts.  Judge  Wilson  was  as- 
signed to  the  Fourth  circuit,  consisting  of  the  counties 
of  Clay,  Wayne,  White,  Edwards,  Wabash,  Lawrence 
Crawford,  Clark,  Edgar  and  Ver  million.  This  act  was  re- 
pealed by  an  act  of  January  7th,  1835,  in  so  far  as  it  re- 
quired the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  hold  circuit 
courts.  They  were  left  to  hold  circuit  courts  or  not  to  hold 
them  as  the  judges  might  elect. 

Before  1825,  the  opinions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  ex- 
cept in  a  few  cases,  do  not  designate  the  judges  by  whom 
they  were  written.  These  first  are  simply  "opinion  by 
the  Court. ' '  Later  they  appear  as  having  been  delivered 
by  the  Chief  Justice,  excepting  a  few  that  were  credited 
to  the  Associate  Justices.  Only  two  appear  as  the 
opinions  of  the  Court  by  Judge  Wilson  and  they  are  very 
brief,  and  of  little  importance.  After  the  reorganization 
of  the  Court  in  1825,  the  reports  show  by  whom  the  opin- 
ions were  written.  The  first  opinion  by  Judge  Wilson 
that  arrests  attention  and  demands  consideration  is  the 
case  of  Coles  vs.  Madison  county,  Breese  155. 

Governor  Edward  Coles  owned  ten  slaves  in  Vir- 


246  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

ginia.  He  gave  them  their  freedom  and  brought  them  to 
Illinois,  but  gave  no  bond  as  was  required  by  an  act  of 
the  General  Assembly  passed  in  1819.  The  penalty  pro- 
vided by  the  act  was  two  hundred  dollars  for  each  slave 
so  set  free.  In  1325,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act 
purporting  to  release  all  penalties  incurred  .for  violation 
of  the  act  of  1819.  Governor  Coles  had  been  prominent 
in  the  then  recent  contest  as  to  whether  Illinois  should  be 
a  slave  state  or  a  free  state.  The  feeling  of  the  defeated 
pro-slavery  party  was  very  bitter  against  him  and  took 
shape  in  a  suit  for  the  penalties  incurred  for  his  alleged 
violation  of  the  act  of  1819.  The  power  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  release  such  penalties  was  denied.  A  trial 
in  the  Circuit  Court  resulted  in  a  judgment  of  two  thous- 
and dollars  against  Coles.  From  this  judgment  he  ap- 
pealed to  the  Supreme  Court  where  the  judgment  of  the 
Circuit  Court  was  reversed.  This  opinion  was  written 
by  Judge  Wilson  and  is  a  fine  exposition  of  his  learning 
as  a  judge  and  his  humanity  as  a  man.  The  last  opinion 
filed  by  him  was  in  the  December  term,  1847. 

The  published  reports  of  the  Supreme  Court  show 
that  he  performed  his  full  share  of  the  labor  and  business 
of  the  Court.  His  opinions  are  concise  in  the  statement 
of  facts,  logical  in  argument,  sound  in  law  and  possess 
the  beauty  of  brevity.  During  his  period  of  service  the 
court  was  laying  the  foundation  of  the  system  of  juris- 
prudence that  now  prevails  in  the  state,  and  gives  secur- 
ity and  protection  to  life,  liberty,  reputation  and  proper- 
tv.  This  srreat  work  of  the  court  was  well  and  wisely 
done,  and  it  is  meet  and  proper  that  the  names  and  mem- 
ories of  those  distinguished  pioneer  judges  shall  be 
honored  and  perpetuated  by  those  who  have  succeeded 
them  and  now  enjoy  the  rich  fruitage  of  their  labor. 

Some  of  Judge  Wilson's  contemporaries  have  left  on 
the  pages  of  recorded  history  their  estimate  of  his  ability 
as  a  judge,  and  of  his  character  as  a  man. 


ETHELBERT  C  ALLAH  AN  247 

Judge  Elliott  Anthony  says  "  Wilson  was  a  man  of 
considerable  ability  and  proved  to  be  a  good  judge  and 
commanded  the  respect  of  the  Bar.'-' 

Judge  John  Dean  Caton  says:  "Wilson  was  a  man  of 
good  parts,  a  thorough  gentleman,  courteous  and  affable, 
and  of  a  very  cheerful  disposition.  He  was  fond  of  a  good 
joke  even  at  his  own  expense  or  that  of  his  best  friend. 
He  appreciated  humor  and  told  a  story  well.  He  was  a 
good  lawyer  but  not  a  great  lawyer.  He  comprehended 
well  a  principle  of  law  *  *  *  an(^  when  a  case  was 
cited  in  support  of  a  proposition  of  law,  he  readily  de- 
termined whether  it  was  applicable  or  not." 

Judge  John  M.  Scott  says  "He  was  a  lawyer  and 
nothing  else.  In  no  sense  was  he  a  politician.  During 
his  incumbency  of  his  high  office  of  Chief  Justice  he 
seems  to  have  discharged  his  duties  with  such  faithful- 
ness and  ability  as  to  receive  popular  approbation. ' ' 

Governor  John  M.  Palmer  says :  ' l  Chief  Justice  Wil- 
son was  held  in  high  regard  by  his  contemporaries  and 
even  now  his  opinions  are  admitted  for  their  clearness 
and  precision  of  expression." 

Hon.  James  C.  Conkling  says  "As  a  writer  his  style 
was  clear  and  distinct.  As  a  lawyer  his  judgment  was 
sound  and  discriminating." 

No  sane  man  desires  to  be  forgotten  as  soon  as  he  has 
ceased  to  live.  No  man  who  has  consciously  performed 
important  public  duties  and  thereby  conferred  benefit 
upon  society  or  the  state  desires  to  have  his  work  over- 
looked or  forgotten  by  those  who  succeed  him.  Oblivion 
is  a  dismal  abyss  from  which  all  humanity  recoils.  There 
is  something  in  the  constitution  of  man  that  reaches  out 
toward  the  future  and  seeks  to  explore  the  unknown. 
It  reaches  from  the  scenes  and  memories  of  mortal  life 
that  linger  on  the  shores  of  time,  to  the  realm  of  immor- 
tality. Every  book  of  biography  or  autobiography; 
every  picture  of  the  human  face  or  form;  and  every 


248  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

monumental  stone  is  a  protest  against  an  entry  into  the 
realms  of  the  forgotten.  This  portrait  of  the  disting- 
uished jurist,  who  for  twenty-nine  years  honored  the 
Bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois;  who  held  the  first 
term  of  the  Circuit  Court  ever  held  in  the  county  of  Law- 
rence, and  many  of  the  succeeding  terms,  is  presented  to 
the  county  by  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Alice  Stuve  Jar- 
rett,  and  Hon.  Lincoln  DuBois,  a  grandson  of  Judge  Wil- 
son's intimate  friend,  Toussaint  DuBois,  and  nephew  of 
Henri  DuBois  and  Toussaint  DuBois,  Jr.,  the  first  sheriff 
and  first  clerk  of  this  county,  at  whose  house  the  first 
court  was  held,  and  it  testifies  to  their  desire  that  his  un- 
sullied name,  and  his  distinguished  service  may  be  re- 
membered and  receive  due  honor  in  the  place  where  his 
service  was  given.  It  will  be  placed  in  the  court  room 
where  his  successors  in  the  judicial  office  sit  to  hold  the 
scales  of  justice  in  even  balance,  even  as  he  ever  held 
them.  It  will  awaken  memories  of  the  early  years  of  the 
state  and  of  the  county.  It  will  recall  the  pioneer  times 
when  the  courts  were  held  in  private  houses  and  juries 
deliberated  in  some  out  house  or  in  the  shade  of  the  forest 
trees.  When  the  judge  and  the  lawyers  travelled  around 
the  circuit  on  horseback,  often  swimming  the  unbridged 
streams.  When  lawyers  were  not  limited  as  to  time,  or 
confined  strictly  to  the  case  on  trial.  When  everybody 
went  to  court  to  hear  the  lawyers  tell  stories,  talk  law  and 
discuss  politics. 

It  will  be  an  inspiration  to  the  members  of  the  Bar  to 
strive  persistently  for  attainment  to  the  loftiest  standards 
of  the  dignified,  useful,  honorable  and  responsible  profes- 
sion which  they  have  chosen  as  their  life  work. 

Mr.  President  of  the  Lawrence  County  Bar  Associa- 
tion, on  behalf  of  the  donors,  Mrs  Alice  Jarrett  and  Hon. 
Lincoln  DuBois,  I  present  to  you  and  through  you  to  the 
County,  this  splendid  portrait  of  Judge  William  Wilson. 


INDEX 


Page      Page 

Introductory 3  to    5 

Autobiographical 5  to  43 

PUBLIC  ADDRESSES 

Ye  Shall  Know  Them  by  Their  Fruits ±3  to  58 

Sketch  by  Ralph  Wilkin ,.58  to  61 

Address  at  Court  House , 61  to  64 

Fourth  of  July  Address  at  Robinson ! 64  to  77 

In  Memory  of  Zadok  A.  Pearce '. 77  to  80 

In  Memory  of  Judge  John  Scholfield 80  to  87 

In  Memory  of  Hon.  James  C.  Allen 87  to  94 

On  Laying  Corner  Stone  of  Court  House  in 

Robinson 94  to  106 

Address  of  Welcome .' 106  to  109 

On  Laying  the  Corner  Stone  of  the  M.  E. 

Church 109  to  114 

Address  on  Statutory  Revision 114  to  128 

Centenary  of  Lincoln's  Birthday 128  to  143 

St.  Patrick's  Day  in  the  Evening,  A.  D.  1910 143  to  146 

On  Presentation  of  a  National  Flag '....146  to  156 

Address  at  Newman,  Illinois 156  to  170 

Annual  Address  as  President  of  State  Bar 

Association 170  to  192 

Welcome  to  American  Bar  Association 192  to  196 

Lovejoy  Monument  Address 196  to  200 

Introducing  Henry  Watterson 200  to  202 

Address  at  Harvest  Home  Picnic 202  to  213 

The  Doctor  and  the  Lawyer :..213  to  219 

Crawford  County  Pioneer  Association 219  to  236 

Address  Delivered  at  the  Home  Coming 236  to  243 

In  Memory  of  Judge  Wilson 243  to  248 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

John  Callahan op.    6 

Margaret  Brown  Callahan op.    6 

Ethelbert  Callahan '. op.  24 

Mary  Barlow  Callahan op.  24 

Hon.  Wm.  C.  Jones op.  27 

Mary  Callahan,  Jr.  1892...  op.  27 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


AN  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  MY  LIFE 


